Ember Potter
by Darbydoo95
Summary: Harry Potter, Golden Boy, has been turned into the Golden Girl, but what happens when she overhears a conversation that she wasn't supposed to? Will her loyalties remain the same?
1. Chapter 1

I sighed as I looked down at my potion. It was just supposed to be your average day gender swapping potion. It was supposed to be a light green, but for some reason, my potion was forest green. "Hermione," I whispered, "What's going on?"

"It's fine Harry," Hermione said quietly, "Just stir counter clock-wise about three more times."

"Thank you," I said. I did as she said, but the color just got darker to almost black. "Professor Snape!" I called out, "Something's wrong with my potion!"

"What?" Snape asked. As he started walking over to me, my potion started to bubble and I knew that it was going to blow soon.

"Back up!" I yelled, "Back away!" I tried to warn everyone, but Hermione wouldn't move. Finally, just before the potion blew up, covering me with it's contents, I pushed Hermione out of its reach. I was the only one covered with the black goo. It was everywhere. In my hair, on my robes, on my face. I just felt icky having it on me. I kind of just watched as the potion seeped into my clothes and made contact with my skin. It even went through my pants.

My vision started to get a little blurry, and I tried to blink it away but it didn't work. My vision actually got blurrier. I knew I was going to pass out when I started to get tunnel vision. "Harry!" I heard Hermione yell as I started to fall onto the ground. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my torso and lower me down, but my eyes were already closed by the time I had landed.

* * *

I opened my eyes, but I had to close them again quickly because the light hurt so much. The only place that hurt this much was the Hospital Wing. There was a curtain between me and the door, but I heard voices on the other side of it. "How is this possible Headmaster?" I heard Ron ask from the other side of the curtain, "You promised that Harry would marry Ginny!"

"I'm not marrying him- her- it now!" I heard Ginny yell. It was really strange because I was only fourteen, I wasn't thinking about marriage, "I don't care how much money the Potter family has!"

"Just calm down Ms. Weasley," I heard Headmaster Dumbledore say, "Harry is now in every way a woman. We may not be able to marry her off to one of your brothers."

I let my jaw drop but I didn't make any noise. I was scared of what they would do if I did. I felt a hand cover my mouth, and I looked over to see Snape there with an angered look on his face. The anger kind of melted a little when his eyes landed on me. He pressed a single finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. I nodded my head and listened on. "The only one who knows of our plans is Mum," Ron said, "and I ain't marrying Harry! It's unnatural!"

"Let's finish this conversation in my office," Dumbledore said, "Harry might wake up any second, and we do not wish to obliviate him again."

I turned to Snape and mouthed, "Again?" to him. Snape shrugged but didn't say a word. He just glared at the curtain as the footsteps left the Wing. I didn't say anything until I was sure the door was closed.

"First thing first, Marriage?" I asked. My voice was higher pitched than I remembered it being, but it also had a soft quality to it, "I'm only fourteen."

"That's the first question you ask Potter?" Snape asked with an amused scoff, "Just kind of floated over the 'girl' part?"

"What did he mean by that?" I asked a second later. Snape picked up a mirror and held it up to me with the back facing towards me. I slowly took the mirror out of his hands and looked at mine. They seemed smaller, more delicate or something. My nails seemed a little longer as well.

"D-Do I want to see?" I asked him.

"There is no cure for it at present time, there may never be a cure, so my advise would be to get it over with and get over it sooner," Snape said.

I nodded my head, took a deep breath, and I turned the ornate mirror around. I gasped as I looked at the mirror. In the glass was the vision of a very pretty girl with long black hair and stunning green eyes. I was so shocked I had almost dropped the mirror onto my face. I gently brought a hand up to touch my face, and that's when I knew. I knew this was my real face now.

"Y-You said that there may not ever be a cure?" I asked clearing my throat. I could feel the tears sting my eyes.

"That's correct Potter," Snape said with a sigh, "I suggest that we go to Gringotts as soon as you get well enough, and settle everything with them. See if there are any contracts in your name, see if anyone has tried to steal from you, and go shopping."

"I-I don't know who to trust anymore..." I said with a sniffle.

"My best bet would be with either Longbottom or a Hufflepuff," Snape said. That's when it hit me. I didn't have time to tell Cedric about the dragons!

"P-Professor! I need you to deliver something to Cedric Diggory for me please," I said.

"Do I look like your messenger boy Potter?" Snape asked, "but I could fetch Mr. Diggory for you."

"No!" I yelled, "I'm not ready for anyone to see me like this."

"Last I checked Mr. Diggory was a friend of yours, and Hufflepuffs are loyal to a fault. He will not judge you for what has happened."

"Though you totally are," I replied.

"I am not going to lie when I tell you that your potions skills need some... refining," Snape said. If I didn't know better, I would have thought I saw a small almost nonexistent smile appear on his lips, "But I do know that you will need to confront this head on and have someone there to have your back."

All I could do was nod, and Snape left the room. I sighed as I heard the door close behind him, and Madam Pomfrey came in to check on me. "Hello Harry," she said, "Or is there another name that you wish to go by now?"

For some reason, a name would not leave my mind and it slipped out of my lips before I could stop it. "Ember. Ember Potter."


	2. Chapter 2

I sighed as the exam was finished. Madam Pomfrey said that I was free to go today if I felt up to it. Hermione came in not a second later and looked at me in shock. I thought I was about a glare or some kind of angry rant about how I was a girl now, but what I really heard was this, "Damn your boobs are bigger than mine."

"W-what?" I asked.

"Your boobs are like twice the size of mine! It isn't fair!" Hermione said with a huge smile on her face.

"S-so you aren't angry?" I asked her.

"Why would I be angry?" she asked, "It was an accident. The reason I'm really upset about your boobs being bigger than mine is because my bras won't fit you."

"Are you a witch or aren't you?" I asked with a smile. No matter how long she's been here, in the wizarding world, she always forgot.

"Resizing?" she asked me making a face.

"There you go!" I laughed.

"You have a nice laugh," she said with a smile, "Guys will go nuts just to hear it."

"W-would you like to go shopping with me?" I asked her, "I don't really know what I'm doing."

"I would love to Harry," she replied.

"Ember," I corrected, "I'll tell Snape that we can go after I tell Cedric about the dragons."

"What dragons?" I heard Cedric's voice come from the doorway.

"Hagrid showed me the dragons they want to use for the first trial," I said, "Viktor, Fleur, and I had a heads up. I thought it was unfair that you didn't."

"Thanks... Ember right?" Cedric said, "You're changing your name to Ember right?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"I'm so thick!" Hermione yelled, "We have to go to Diagon Alley now!"

"What on Earth are you talking about, Granger?" Snape said.

"If Harry no longer exists, they cannot make Ember go in his place!" she said jumping up and down in excitement.

"Ah!" I said happily kissing her head, "You're a genius!"

"Well," Snape said, "Let us go. We have a lot to do."

"Let me get dressed," I said with a smile. Hermione resized the clothes before pushing Snape and Cedric back behind the curtain before coming back behind to show me how to put on a bra right.

"D-do you think it's possible for me to come shopping with you?" I heard Cedric ask.

"I suppose that is for Ember and the headmaster to decide," Snape said.

"Fine with me," I said finally getting the bra on right, "I don't like these things at all."

"Well with tatas like yours," Hermione said with a laugh, "You're gonna have to get used to it."

"But they're itchy!" I whined.

"Get used to it," she repeated. I liked the dress she had gotten me, but wearing a skirt just felt weird. It was very... pink. As I pulled my now really long hair up into a ponytail, Hermione was teaching me how to put on eyeliner and mascara. "You want to get as close to your eye as possible but don't poke yourself in the eye."

"Is it really necessary to make these weird faces while doing this?" I asked.

"Absolutely," she said with a smile, "It's a must."

I laughed and looked in the mirror again. I had little strands of hair falling out of the ponytail and framing my face. The eyeliner and mascara actually made my eyes pop even more than I thought was possible.

"You know..." Hermione said with a soft smile, "You look kind of like your mom but with black hair."

"You think?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I do." I slipped on the white flat shoes that Hermione had given me and stood up again. "This is your purse, and this is your wallet." She held out a white purse and a pink wallet.

"What is with you and your obsession of pink?" I asked.

"I'm thinking we should get your ears pierced while we're in town," she said totally ignoring the question, "I think you would look beautiful if you had some cute diamonds. I'm also going to have to teach you to walk in heels."

"You ready to go?" I said with a smile.

"Yep," she replied.

We walked out from behind the curtain and Cedric and Professor Snape was sitting there waiting on us. "The Headmaster has given his approval that join us on our... shopping trip. He has even given us permission to stay over night and return tomorrow."

"Giving us more time to do what we have to?" I asked with a smile. I looked him and Cedric up and down. They were both in muggle clothes. Cedric was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt with a light jacket. Snape looked kind of like a biker or something. He was wearing a black button-up shirt, black jeans, and a black leather jacket.

"You look good in pink," Cedric said with a blush, "I-if you aren't in the competition and all that... I was wondering if you would like to go with me to the Yule Ball?"

"You don't waist any time do you?" I laughed, but after seeing the blush on Cedric's cheeks, I smiled at him, "I'll think about it Ced, but no answer right now."

"I have a question!" Hermione said with an excited squeal, "If you start dating guys would that make you gay?"

"I don't know," I said with a smile, "I was bi-sexual as a guy. My mind hasn't changed at all. I still like treacle tart, still hurt over what Ron and Ginny did, still like Quidditch."

"Wait, wait, wait," Hermione said, "What do you mean 'hurt over what Ron and Ginny did'?"

"I'll tell you tonight," I said, "We can talk about it after I write to Padfoot."

"Who's Padfoot?" Cedric asked.

"Just a friend," I said with a smile, "Shall we go?"

We left the school and as soon as we were outside the gate, Snape grabbed onto my arm while Cedric grabbed Hermione's. I used Snape as kind of a fixture to find my footing. "Are you alright?" Hermione asked looking just as green as I did.

All I did was nod my head. I didn't want to open my mouth, not knowing what would come out. " and I will share a room while you two share a room," Snape said pointing to Hermione and me.

* * *

Our first move was going to Gringotts Wizard Bank. It was just Snape and me who went; we made Cedric and Hermione stay at the Leaky Cauldron. "Are you alright ?" Snape asked.

"What am I going to say to them? Will they know? Will they understand? Will they judge me?" I asked as I fiddled with my fingers while we walked.

"Why do I have a feeling this is about more than about the goblins?" Snape asked.

"What if the Gryffindors don't accept me?" I whispered.

"Ah, ," I heard a goblin say as he walked up to me, "Shall we get started?"

"Y-you were expecting me Griphook?" I asked.

"We've been expecting you for a few months, but as _Mr_.Potter, not as you are now. We have found some things that are incredibly disturbing in your transactions," Griphook said.

"What transactions? The last one I know of was just before school started," I replied.

"Exactly," Griphook replied. He then led us to his office. I gave Snape a confused look as we walked behind the goblin. All the man did was shrug his shoulders and continue to look forward. When we got to the office Griphook started to speak again, "I am afraid this is going to be a fairly long session; would either of you like tea?"

"Please," I said with polite smile.

"First things first," Griphook said, "Albus Dumbledore has been trying to keep these from you." He held up two envelopes and dropped them on the table.

I read the writing on the envelopes and gasped. _The Will and Testament of James Flemont Potter and Lily Jane Potter_ was written on the front in loopy bright green ink.


	3. Chapter 3

_Lily's Handwriting_

 _ **James's Handwriting**_

 _Regular Writing_

* * *

I sighed in astonishment as I looked at the envelope. "W-why wasn't I shown this before?" I asked looking at Griphook.

"You should have been shown on your first trip to the bank, but there must have been a mix up in the paperwork," the goblin explained, "After you read this, we can continue with other business."

I nodded my head and picked up the envelope. I opened it and took a deep breath before pulling the papers out of it. They had straightened after years of staying in the envelope, and they had two different sets of handwriting.

 _This is the last Will and Testament of Lily **and James** Potter. We are of sound mind **kind of** and body._

 _ **To my best mate, Sirius Black, we leave our son Harry. I know a lot of people will believe that you are our secrete keeper, but we know the truth. Sirius Black was not the secret keeper. He was at first, but we switched at the last minute to Peter Pettigrew. If we ended up dead, it was because of him. We also leave Sirius Black with a small allowance of 1,000 galleons a month as a means for you to take care of him. If you don't want to use it to take care of Harry, you can use it on Remus. We've known, mate, we always have.** We don't care either. Love who you love Sirius._

 _To Remus Lupin, one of the brightest and kindest man we've ever known, we know that you will be busy taking care of Harry and Sirius, so we are giving you a bigger allowance: 5,000 galleons a month. And Remus, never feel ashamed of what you are, or who you love. You are the best friend a woman can ask for._

"To Severus Snape," I read aloud giving a quick look to my potions professor, "If Sirius and Remus cannot take care of Harry, or whoever he should become, you are to take care of him. You are to be given a 5,000 galleon allowance just like Remus. I also want to apologize for all the times I never accepted _your_ apologizes. You are still my best friend I have ever had, and I just wanted you to know this in case I never get the chance to say it to your face.

"I, James now, also would like to apologize to Severus Snape for all the shite I had put him though. I was a jerk and a prat, probably still am, but I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me. It will only hurt us both. Again, I am sorry for the terrible snot I was in school.

"Harry, under no reason should go to my sister. She is a loathsome, hateful creature, and Harry will not be around this. Anyone who puts Harry with her should have everyone of his teeth and nails ripped away from him until he begs for death."

 _ **To our son, Harry Potter, or whoever he may turn into, will get everything and all access to the vaults when he opens this envelope. We would also like to make Sirius Black and Remus Lupin his Magical Guardians. Albus Dumbledore is to go nowhere near our child.**_

 _Harry, we also want to tell you that we love you with all our hearts. We just want you to be happy and healthy. Do not listen to the Prophecy. You make your own fate my lovely little one, and no one can make you do anything you do not wish to do._

 _ **We also wanted to tell you to not trust Headmaster Dumbledore. He is a man used to using people as chess pieces, and you will be twice as expendable to him. I'm just sorry we didn't figure it out until later. We love you, and we will always watch over you.**_

 _ **This concludes the Last Will and Testament of James** and Lily Potter._

"D-" I said before clearing my throat, "Do you think the Ministry could get a copy of this? Maybe when they read the part about Sirius not being the secret keeper, he will get a fair trial."

"Of course Ms. Potter," Griphook said taking the paper from me, "Now, these are the most recent transactions. It starts from the beginning of your first year to now."

I sighed and took the paper from the goblin and read it.

 _September 5th, 1991_

 _Albus Dumbledore: 100,000 galleons_

 _Albus Dumbledore (to be given to the Dursley family): 100,000 galleons_

 _Albus Dumbledore: five books on dark arts from the Potter heirloom vault_

 _September 7th, 1991_

 _Molly Weasley: 50,000 galleons_

 _Molly Weasley: Lily Potter's engagement ring and wedding band_

And it just went on and on. They had gotten into my vaults and stole not only money from me, but heirlooms from my family. I glared at Griphook with tear filled eyes. "I want you to do inventory of **everything** they took. I want it back, and I want my money back. I want charges filed and I will need a lawyer for not only me, but for my godfather. I will need copies of all of these documents, and any others you find, go to the lawyer," I said, "I will need to meet with this lawyer tonight, and I would also like to change my name. As it seems that it was only Molly, Ginny, and Ronald who had stolen from me, I would like to set up an allowance for the rest of the Weasley family that nobody else can touch. I want this going to court!"

"I shall call one to us now," Griphook said with a gleeful smile, "Of course getting everything back would cost a fee, but it wouldn't even make a dent in your fortune. And if you wish to, we could set up a card for you. It is based off the muggle debit card. You will come up with a four digit pin number and swipe the card. It takes money straight out of the accounts assigned to the card. It will work in both the muggle and wizarding worlds as most stores here accept them."

"Please and thank you," I replied.

Griphook nodded before pulling out a piece of plain parchment, a form on paper, and a quill. He wrote a letter and sent it off with an owl, and looked at me.

"What is your current full name?" he asked.

"Harry James Potter," I replied.

The entire form was filled out and sent off. By the time the lawyer came in, my legal name was Ember Lilian Potter.

* * *

My lawyer came in and I looked at him strangely. I had seen him on billboards and commercials in the muggle world. "Good afternoon," he said as I stood up to greet him, "My name is Richard Harris, and I will be your legal council."

"Good afternoon to you Mr. Harris," I said giving him a handshake. Griphook had lent us his office so Snape and I could talk privately with the man in front of us, "My name is Ember Potter, formally Harry Potter."

"If you do not mind my asking Mr-Ms. Potter," he said trying to cover up for his mistake, "How did you end up..."

"As a woman? A potions accident," I answered, "Nothing more, nothing less." I gave him a calming smile and asked him to sit down.

"Now, why did ask to see me today?" Mr. Harris said.

"I would like a lot of things for you to do today," I said, "The top of the list is getting me out of this Triwizard Tournament, emancipated from my muggle relatives, and suing the pants off of Albus Dumbledore, Molly, Ginny, and Ronald Weasley."

Mr. Harris was shocked. "I-I'm sorry," he said, "I must have heard you wrong. Did you just say you wanted to sue Albus Dumbledore?"

"Yes," I said, "The old goat has been stealing from me for years. Not just money, but family heirlooms as well. I'm just lucky enough to have found this out, so I could close the vaults to anyone besides myself. He's also been using me as a pawn in his war, and I will not stand for it any longer."

"What all would you like to do to Dumbledore?" Harris asked, a smirk lining his lips.

"I would like to ruin his financial status, his reputation, and if possible his entire livelihood," I said, "The rest of the Weasleys are to be left untouched. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," he said, "Now why would you want to be emancipated from your relatives?"

"As a male, they have beaten and neglected me. Not only have they physically abused me, but they also mentally, verbally, and emotionally abused me. Now that I'm a woman, I am afraid that they may start sexually abusing me as well."

"Do you have any proof?" Harris said. I looked over at Snape. He was shocked and just staring at the floor.

"Not yet, but I am getting a full, past and present physical before we leave here tonight. I can get you a copy of every injury, or product of the abuse I endured at the hands of my relatives in half an hour," I said with a sigh.

"Anything else Ms. Potter?" Harris said.

"I would also like my Godfather, Sirius Black, to get a court date. He didn't have one, and I believe it's long overdue," I replied.

"This is a lot I need to take care of Ms. Potter. I believe that Sirius Black's court date should be the first thing we take care of," Harris said. We talked and talked business until a nurse goblin came into the room and called for me. Snape still hadn't moved from his spot, and I figured if he hadn't moved by the time I got back, I would wake him.

She led me to an examination room and gave me a hospital gown. I changed into it and sat down on the bed they had set up for me. The nurse goblin was no less uglier than the rest, but she had this calming air about her. She waved her wand over me and a large piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. She and I watched as the words wrote themselves. I didn't want to read any of it.

"It seems you have some broken bones that have healed incorrectly, and you also have a lot of blocks on your magic and your memory. There is also something very dark in your scar. We will find out what it is, extract it, and get rid of the scar," she said, "We will have to re-break your bones and heal them correctly. If you wish, we could also fix your eyesight while we are at it."

"You can do that?" I asked her.

"Of course, but we will have to put you under while we do it. It will be too painful if we don't," she replied. I nodded my head and smiled; I was nervous, but I knew I was in capable hands. She handed me a sleep potion, and I took the vial from her tiny, clawed hands. "It will make you sleep for about two hours. We should be done by then." I nodded my head once and downed the dark blue and almost stary looking potion in one big gulp before laying down on the bed. The last thought to go through my conscious mind was, 'I hope I'll be taller.'


	4. Chapter 4

I smiled as I looked at my slightly taller frame. I was now 5'8", and I couldn't be happier. The height kind of made my curves pop out a little more. "Maybe being a girl won't be so bad," I said out loud.

"Wait until your first menstrual cycle, Ms. Potter," the lady goblin said with a smirk.

"You are just bound and determined to make me regret that statement aren't you?" I laughed. She helped me get my dress back on and led me back to the office. Harris was still there, trying to wake Snape.

Finally, I stood up and walked in front of the man. I apparently looked just like my mother now but with black hair, so I grabbed on to his shoulder and gave him a shake. "Hey! Wake up you dunderhead!" I said using the word he said in my first year. I never really forgot that.

"L-Lily?" he asked looking at me, but then his thoughts seemed to come back to him, "All done then Ms. Potter?"

"Just about," I said with a smile, "Then we can leave."

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"You don't need to know," I said patting him on the shoulder. I handed Harris the LONG list of injuries and blocks that were removed from me. "The most important issue at this time is getting me out of this tournament. I am no longer Harry Potter, so I have no hold to that contract."

"Of course ma'am," Harris said with a calming smile, "I will start on it tomorrow."

"I hope you have a good evening," I said with a smile.

"To you as well," he replied.

"Is that all?" I asked Griphook.

"Yes madam," he replied, "Should anything else pop up we shall send word to you and Mr. Harris."

"Thank you Griphook," I said with a smile, "May your vaults overflow with gold."

"May yours as well," he said giving me a slight bow of his head. I smiled at him, and Snape and I left the bank with a sigh of relief.

"I didn't think I was ever going to get out of there," I said with a stretch.

"It is only six o'clock," Snape said, "We can go get your muggle things before the stores close."

"Can we please?" I asked, "I've been still for too long!"

"Let us go get Mr. Diggory and Ms. Granger," Snape said with a nod of his head. I had to walk a little faster to keep up with the professor's walking pace, and by the time we ran up to Cedric and Hermione, I was almost out of breath.

"Water?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"Please," I replied in a slightly raspy voice. I took a few sips of the water glass she passed me and sighed. "I'm not used to running with these things yet," I said gesturing to my chest.

"Where are your glasses?" Cedric asked.

I told them a condensed version of what went on at the bank and Hermione was shocked. "How did those blocks get on you? Who put them there?"

"I don't know," I said rubbing my neck, "I didn't really check. I gave the list to my lawyer. I'll explain it all tonight."

Hermione nodded and we went to a mall called Brent Cross Shopping Centre. I blushed when Hermione led us to a woman's underwear shop called Victoria's Secret.

"We'll wait out here," Cedric said with a smile, "Take your time."

"Thank you!" I said in relief. I was still blushing when Hermione dragged me into the store.

"Alright Har- Ember," Hermione said quickly recovering from her mistake, "You're going to need some sensible, comfortable underwear, some cute, sexy underwear, bras, and pajamas. Maybe some socks and stockings as well."

After Victoria's Secret, we walked all around the mall. We got jeans, t-shirts, blouses, shoes, and got my ears pierced. It hurt way more than I thought it would, but the little hoops looked really cute. Before I knew it, we were back at the Leaky Cauldron. We sat down for dinner after putting my bags in our room, but I was just pushing my food around my plate.

"Ms. Potter," I heard Snape say, "You must eat and take your potions."

"I'm not hungry," I said with a sigh.

"'When your stomach is empty and your mind is full, it's always hard to sleep,'" Snape said.

"E.B. White," Hermione and I said. I ate as much as I could and took my potions. Hermione and I excused ourselves from the table and went back to our room.

"Are you going to tell me what you meant about Ron and Ginny?" she asked as she closed the door behind us. I almost didn't want to tell her, but I had to. Ron and Ginny were total jerks and Hermione needed to know.

"W-what?" she asked when I was finished. I didn't say a word; I just nodded my head.

"I-I understand if you don't believe me, but I thought you needed to know anyway. You can go and ask Snape," I said in a weak kind of voice.

"You've never lied to me before," she said with tear filled eyes, "It's just a shock Ember."

I smiled softly as she took my hands into hers and held them tight, "N-now that we've gotten all that nasty business out of the way, why don't you teach me how to be a proper lady?"

"Alright," Hermione said with a watery chuckle, "Let's start off with curtsies."

Around midnight, Snape had to come to our room and tell us to go to sleep. The tripping and falling was keeping him and Cedric awake. I couldn't stand to be alone right now, so Hermione and I cuddled into one bed. "Sweet dreams Ember," she said with a yawn.

"Sweet dreams 'Mione," I replied. I closed my eyes, and for the first time in a long time, I slept through the night without any nightmares.

Snape woke us up early the next morning, wanting to beat the rush to the stores. We went to Madam Malkin's first and ordered my new uniforms. They were to be sent to Hogwarts, and Snape allowed us to go to the book shop before we had to head back to the school. I actually found a few books on the woman anatomy that Hermione recommended and some books on the dark arts, and we picked up some feminine supplies.

I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window, and I smiled. I almost didn't recognize myself. My hair reached all the way to the small of my back, I had an hourglass figure, I just looked so... soft. I liked myself this way. I never thought of myself as a woman, but I felt, I don't know, at home like this.

"Ms. Potter!" I heard a voice call from the bank. It was Richard Harris, my lawyer. He was running up to us as quickly as possible. "I have some final questions, if you don't mind of course."

"Do anything you need to," I said with a soft smile, "Just wait for a little while before you serve them, please. I need to talk to a few people. Just make sure I'm out of the tournament before the first trial. I'll write when you can serve them."

"That's all I needed to know ma'am," Harris said with a nod, "I hope you have a good day."

"I wish you a good day as well," I replied.

As soon as we got back inside the gate, Professor McGonagall was waiting on Hermione and I. "We need to address your housemates Ms. Potter," she said, "I hear you have decided on a name for yourself?"

"Yes ma'am," I said with a nervous nod of my head, "Ember Lillian Potter."

"A beautiful name," she said with a soft smile, "for such a pretty girl. We've already moved all your effects to the girls' dorm. If you ever feel that you are not at home in Gryffindor anymore, just tell me, and I will see to you getting your own rooms."

"Thank you Professor," I said with a soft, frightened smile.

She took us back to the Common Room, where everyone of Gryffindor House was lounging around, waiting on us.

I gave a gulp as Professor McGonagall called all their attention onto us.


	5. Chapter 5

"Attention everyone!" McGonagall called. Everyone stopped what they were doing, even chess pieces had stopped bashing eachother's heads in to listen to the Head of House. "Now as I'm sure most of you know by now of the terrible potions accident that happened a couple of days ago," at the overall sound of agreement coming from the room, she continued, "Well, many of you may not be sure what the outcome of the accident was. Harry James Potter was transformed into a woman in the accident. There doesn't seem to be a cure as of yet, so Harry is now Ember Lillian Potter." Everyone was shocked and started whispering to themselves, "She will be living in the girls' dorm from now on, and if I hear of any wrongdoings by anyone in Gryffindor House, the perpetrators will have a month's worth of detentions with Filtch. Understand? Is there anything you would like to say Ms. Potter?"

I nodded my head and held it high, though I was shaking in my shoes. "I'm still the same person," I said loud enough so that my voice would carry to all corners of the room, "just with a new name and face. I still love quidditch and my friends. If any of you have questions, you may approach me one at a time, and I will answer to the best of my abilities."

"That is all," Professor McGonagal said with a wave of her hand.

Hermione and I could see Ron and Ginny trying to get to us, but thankfully, Fred and George made it to us first.

"So mate," Fred said with a smile.

"How does it feel to be a chick?" George finished.

"Hermione and I actually need to talk to you really quick," I said grabbing their hands and pulling them out of the Common Room. I pulled them away into an abandoned classroom. Hermione closed the doors behind us, and I looked at them.

* * *

I pulled out the papers I had gotten from Gringotts and told them everything. It took almost an hour to explain everything, and when I was done, they had a bunch of emotions going through their faces: anger, betrayal, sadness, fear, and shock were only naming a few. I started to get scared and I squeezed Hermione's hand tighter. I couldn't lose them as my friends. They were some of my closest friends, and after losing my trust in Ron and Ginny...

"Dammit!" Fred cursed as he banged his fist into the wood of the desk. I flinched and hid behind Hermione a little. George noticed this and stepped up to me. I closed my eyes, almost expecting a punch or something, but it never came. Instead I felt a hand land softly on the top of my head.

"We aren't angry with you... Ember," George said slowly trying to get used to my new name, "We're angry because we don't doubt it. We know our mother is capable of doing something like this."

"We just never thought she would go through with it," Fred growled.

"You've been more like a brother to us than we can even say, now you're our little sister, and we won't let anyone hurt you... even if it is our family."

"I-I don't think your dad or other brothers knew anything about this," I said slowly, "I want to make sure that you guys will be watched out for..."

"So your really going through with it?" Fred asked, "We'll be even more broke than we already are!"

"If you would let her finish!" Hermione said angrily. Fred was a little shocked but nodded his head.

"I've set it up so your dad, you guys, Percy, Charlie, and Bill will get an allowance of 1,000 galleons every month. If your dad needs more, all he has to do is tell me," I said looking into each of their eyes so they would know I'm telling the truth.

George wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I slowly, almost hesitantly, wrapped my arms around him as well. It was a great hug filled with sibling love that I had only felt with Ron. I guess now that it was gone, it had to be divided between these two.

"We'll tell Bill, Charlie, and Dad," Fred said wrapping his arms around me as well. He kissed my head as George finished.

"You don't have to worry about that. You have enough on your brain," he said.

I sniffled softly and sighed in relief. It was a really sweet moment until I heard Hermione's voice come from behind us. "Awwwww," she said before bursting out into laughter as we glared at her.

"We have to get back," I said, "Everyone is probably wondering where we are."

* * *

We made our way back to the Common Room, and I answered question after question. The only good thing about this was that Ron and Ginny were kept away from me. I had to figure out how to deal with them now.

"Alright everyone!" Lavender Brown said loud enough to cover the entire crowd surrounding me, "Ember has had a very long and trying day, and she's ready to go to bed. Off with you now!"

I was kind of shocked, and I guess my face showed it. "Don't look so surprised Ember," Parvati said with a smile, "You're one of us now, and we take care of each other."

"T-Thanks," I said softly.

"No need to thank us," Fay Dunbar said with a smile, "You have to let us teach you how to be a girl though."

They led me up the stairs to the dorm room and into the bathroom as well. My Lord, the tricks these girls knew! Lavender had this hair cream that straightened my hair instantly, Fay taught me how to put eyeliner on easily, Parvati taught me how to put on fingernail polish, and Hermione taught me how to make my breasts look perkier (which wasn't even a problem!). I cannot tell you how many times I put on makeup only to wash it away and do it again.

"Alright girls," Hermione said, "I've got to teach Ember how to shave."

"Girls shave?" I asked.

* * *

An hour after I asked that question, I came out of the bathroom, clean, shaven, and in pajamas that Hermione had picked out for me. The top was a Batman crop top with a soft sports bra underneath, and the bottoms were long matching pants. I also had a black dressing gown and slippers on.

"Put this on your legs, arms, arm pits, and... area. It'll stop the hair from growing back so quickly," she said putting a balm on my nightstand, "And use this on your hands. It's just regular lotion; it'll keep your hands soft."

"Thanks Hermione," I said with a smile.

"It's nothing Ember," she said with a wave of her hand.

"No," I said, "I mean it. Thank you."

"You'd do the same thing for me if the roles were swapped," she said. She took my hand into hers and patted the back of it, "I'll wake you up in the morning Ember. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams," I said back. Hermione got into her bed and pulled the curtains closed, so I did the same. I put the balm everywhere I had shaved and put it in my bedside table drawer. I sighed as I finished rubbing the lotion into my hands. I opened the curtains and laid my head down.

I started crying and crying. I didn't even have the time to process this all, but during all the beauty treatments, it kind of kicked me in the gut. I had my old life stolen from me. I had everything stolen from me in one terrible potions accident. Why did this stuff always happen to me? No one else, just me. I cried and cried as quietly as I could until before I knew it, I was asleep.

The next day would be a whole new can of worms, but with Hermione by my side, I felt I could take over the world.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione woke me up an extra hour than I was used to, but I understood where she came from. I got my makeup and hair done by the time I usually woke up. I can say this, skirts were way easier to put on than pants.

"You look great Ember," Lavender said as she helped me clean my new ear piercings.

"Thanks Lav," I said with a smile. I pulled on my knee high socks and then my shoes before I stood up.

"Think we can get down to breakfast before Ron shows his face?" I asked Hermione in a whisper.

"If we leave now," she said with a scowl.

"Careful 'Mione," I laughed, "Don't want you to get frown lines." The other girls still had a little longer to go, so we linked our arms together and made our way down. Fred, George, and Neville were waiting there for us.

"Hey Nev," I said with a smile. I had a Gryffindor headband holding my hair out of my face, so my green eyes were shown brightly.

"May I escort you to breakfast, my fair lady?" he asked jokingly. I was just glad that Neville wasn't turned away from me now that I was a woman.

I giggle and nodded, "I would love to be escorted by a man as brave as you." It felt weird to say that I giggled, but that was the only word for it.

* * *

We ate breakfast for a little while, and Ron and Ginny were kind of pushed away again by people wanting to ask me questions. Apparently, Dumbledore had made an announcement yesterday to warn people, and they all wanted the dish.

"Hey girl," I said to my faithful owl as she landed in front of me, "Got a letter for me?" Hedwig gave an affirmative hoot, and I took the letter from her leg. She took a piece of bacon off of my plate, nudged my hand wanting a pet, and left.

"Who's it from Ember?" Neville asked.

"The Headmaster," I said with a sigh, "He wants me to come to his office after breakfast."

"Fun," drawled Fred and George. Hermione rolled her eyes, and Neville was just lost. I didn't want to tell him yet. I didn't know how much I could trust him just yet.

"I'll write notes for you during first hour," Hermione said trying to keep me calm.

"I'm going to tell him I won't be participating in the tournament," I whispered to her.

"What?!" Fred, George, and Neville asked shocked.

"I am no longer Harry Potter. My name is legally Ember Potter, and she isn't a part of the tournament. If he tries to fight it, I have a lawyer that will help me," I explained to them.

"Good girl," Fred said with a smile.

* * *

I finished eating and taking my potions before standing up and walking out of the Great Hall. What I wasn't expecting was Snape waiting for me in the Entrance Hall.

"If you wish, Ms. Potter," he said, "I shall accompany you to the Headmaster's office."

"Would you?" I asked, "I don't want to go in there alone."

"Come along then," he said leading the way.

I fiddled with my earrings as we walked. I could tell that it was getting on Snape's nerves, but he didn't say anything. He probably knew that I was nervous enough already.

"Sugar Quills," Snape said as we stood in front of the gargoyle. The stone creature jumped out of its place and let us ascend the stairs behind it.

"Ah, Harry!" the Headmaster said as we entered, completely ignoring the potion's master beside me, "I wanted to see how you were doing, now that you've had a couple of days to adjust. You may leave now Severus."

"Actually, sir, I asked that Professor Snape accompany me on this visit," I said slowly.

"Why Harry?" the headmaster asked.

"I'm not Harry anymore. My new legal name is Ember Potter, and thus, I have no obligation to participate in the Triwizard Tournament," I said.

"Har- Ember, my dear," Dumbledore said, "It is a magically binding contract. You cannot get out of this by simply changing your name."

"Well, yes Headmaster, but it's not just my name that changed," I said, "My gender, DNA, and magic have all changed. My DNA and magic less than my gender, but a change none the less. By every means, I am still the child of James and Lily Potter, but I am no longer Harry Potter."

"I will have to ask Ludo Bagman about all this before we can make anything stick-"

"With all due respect Headmaster, but I will not be participating. I have procured myself a lawyer, and I will use him if you or anyone tries to force me," I interrupted, "Also, if Harry Potter were to say that, he would have lost his magic." I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the bookshelves. I pulled one of the books down and laid it in front of the headmaster. "I have no tie to this tournament or this contract. Now if you will excuse me, Headmaster, but I have to get to class now."

Dumbledore's jaw was hanging loosely from his jaw as I turned and left the room. It wasn't until we were passed the gargoyle that I released the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"You handled him very well Ms. Potter," Snape said with a slight bow in my direction, "Your mother would be proud."

"Thank you, sir," I said nodding my head to the man.

"You best be getting to class," was the last thing the dark man said before heading towards his own classroom. I quickly made my way to Charms, and I saw that Hermione had saved me a seat, far away from Ronald... right next to Draco Malfoy.

I wanted to groan, but I held it in and took my seat between Malfoy and Hermione. "Thanks 'Mione," I said as she slid the notes she had taken towards me. I could feel Malfoy's eyes on me as the class continued, but I didn't say anything. A lot of people were staring at me today, but I knew the stares would cool down over time, like they always did. It may take a while, but they always dwindled.

* * *

I sighed as class ended and we got up. I had DADA next, but I had a really bad feeling about Moody. I almost didn't want to go. "Hey Potter!" I heard Malfoy's voice call me as I walked down the hall with Hermione.

"Yes, Malfoy?" I asked turning towards him.

"You look a little too happy," he replied, "Care to share?"

"I'm sure you'll read about it in the paper," I said. Without me asking, Hermione handed me this morning's paper. A picture of me as a guy and me now were side by side, "I mean this only happened two days ago, and it's already out there for the world to see."

Malfoy scoffed, "Whatever Potter." With that the blonde left with his nose in the air.

"Ready to go?" Hermione asked.

"Let's do it," I said.


	7. Chapter 7

I was shocked as the evening addition of the Daily Prophet landed in front of me. I mean I knew the news of my withdrawal from the tournament would have spread fast, but this was getting ridiculous.

 _Potter Refuses to Play!_

 _By Rita Skeeter_

 _It has been confirmed a couple of days ago that Harry Potter had a terrible accident in his Potion's Class that transformed him into a woman! Rumor has it that the twelve year old has legally changed his/her name to Ember Lillian Potter. I sat down with Ludo Bagman to ask if it was true._

" _Harry, now Ember, Potter has dropped out of the tournament," Bagman had said, "Because the potion changed him, not only in gender, but in DNA and Magic as well. She really is no longer Harry Potter, so she has no tie whatsoever to the tournament. No one can make her participate, and I for one do not intend to._

 _As we said in the paper earlier this morning, there does not seem to be a cure for Potter's condition. We don't even know if she will want to go back to being a man if one is found._

 _More on Harry Potter and his transformation to Ember Potter on page 64_

* * *

I nodded at the article. I was just glad that I was going to have a normal school year. I was about to set the paper down when I saw Hermione. He was silently cheering with her hand covering her mouth.

I looked at the paper again and gasped happily.

 _Sirius Black, Innocent?_

 _By Andy Smudgley_

 _This morning, just after the morning issue was released, it had come to our attention that Sirius Orion Black was to be brought in for a trial, that he supposedly did not receive when he was incarcerated back in 1981._

 _In the courtroom this morning at ten o'clock, Sirius Black was put under Veritaserum and provided memories. Sirius Black was not the Potter's Secret Keeper, and neither did he kill those twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew._

 _As it turned out, Pettigrew was the killer of those twelve muggles and the Potters. He betrayed the Potters to Voldemort then went on the run. Sirius Black, being the experienced Auror he was, tracked Pettigrew down to bring him in, but the man cut off his own finger and blew the street up, killing the muggles. He changed into his rat animagus form and fled._

 _Peter Pettigrew has been in hiding ever since. He is alive, he is a Death Eater, and he is armed and dangerous. Either call the Aurors or use extreme caution when trying to apprehend._

 _Sirius Orion Black is now officially a free man and we sat down with him to find out what he plans on doing now that he can walk the streets again._

" _Well," Black said, "The Wizengamot have ruled that I've spent enough time in Azkaban Prison, even if I **was** a fugitive and an unregistered animagus. The first thing I plan to do is visit my godson- I mean goddaughter, boy is that going to take some getting used to, Ember Potter. I can finally tell the entire world that I'm proud of her!"_

" _After that?"_

" _I'm going to get custody of her. She is my child by right of the Godfather, and I was told by Gringotts that James and Lily Potter's Will gave me full custody of her."_

 _Well, Mr. Black, I hope everything goes well for you from here on out. We here at the Daily Prophet wish you the best in all your endeavors._

* * *

I felt my jaw drop. Sirius was free? Already? Harris was better than I had thought!

Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall slammed open, and I jumped to my feet and ran towards them. Sirius, my Padfoot, had just stepped in, and I jumped into his arms. "Little Doe!" Sirius cried surprised as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He managed to steady himself and hold me tight in a happy hug.

"He's been thinking on that one all day," I heard Remus's voice say from behind Sirius.

"Hey Moony," I said with a smile as Sirius put me down.

"You look beautiful Ember!" Sirius said with a smile, "Just like your Mum."

"Still has her father's hair though," Remus inserted, "How are you doing Ember?"

"I was good earlier," I said, "but now I'm great!" I hugged Remus as well and pulled them over to the Gryffindor table. They didn't have the time to read about me not being in the tournament yet, so Hermione and I filled them in... until Dumbledore chose to interrupt.

"Sirius, my boy, what on Earth are you doing here?" he asked.

"I've been cleared of all charges, Headmaster. I wrote Minnie, but I guess she didn't tell you," Sirius said with his cocky smirk firmly in place.

"Oh," I heard Professor McGonagall say from the head table, "It absolutely slipped my mind, Albus."

"Don't you worry though, sir," Sirius said, "We'll be gone before curfew."

"Well," Dumbledore said, knowing that he couldn't fight it, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt too much now that classes are over."

Sirius and Remus nodded their head and the bumblebee walked away. I was the first one to speak up, "I need to talk to you two, and we can't have any wondering ears. Do you know a place?"

"Oh Ember," Remus said with a smile.

"You underestimate us. We are Padfoot," Sirius said, a gleam of mischievousness growing in his eyes.

"And Moony," Remus finished before standing up and walking off. Though Fred and George were shocked, they ran after the two as if they were gods that needed to be worshiped. Hermione and I couldn't help but giggle.

We noticed that Ron was trying to catch up to us. "Where do we need to meet you?" I asked. Sirius was confused for a second, even more when he saw that we were trying to get away from Ron.

"Seventh floor," he said slowly and lowly.

"We'll see you soon," I said. We split up and Hermione and I walked up to the Gryffindor girls' dorms. I grabbed my invisibility cloak and covered Hermione and myself. Seeing as we were both pretty small, the cloak covered us completely. We took off our shoes so we wouldn't make any noise and we left. Ron was still standing there, waiting for us to go down. I almost sighed in relief when Neville came in and pulled Ron into a conversation.

We managed to get out of the Common room,and we waited until we found an abandoned classroom on the fifth floor to take off the cloak. I had an itching feeling that our party wasn't complete, and I knew why. "I'll meet you on the seventh floor. There's still someone who's missing."

"I'll see you there," Hermione said with a smile. I threw the cloak back on and made my way towards the dungeons. I found Professor Snape's office and I knocked on the door.

"Hello?" he asked when he opened the door.

"Oh right," I said taking off the cloak, "We're having a meeting with Sirius and Remus on the seventh floor. I figured you would want to join us... seeing as you are a part of this mess as well."

Snape sighed and nodded his head. We walked, but he was so much faster than I was.

"Would you stop trailing behind Potter?" Snape asked frustrated.

"My legs are shorter," I said trying to catch up, "I gotta get used to that!"

Snape stopped and let me catch up to him. As soon as I did, Snape grabbed onto my hand. We stayed that way until we made it to the seventh floor.

* * *

"Why is Snivillus here?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius," I said in a scolding tone, "Be nice. I asked him to come. He heard everything I'm about to tell you."

Sirius sighed, but Remus clocked him in the back of the head, "Fine. This is called the Room of Requirement."

"You pace in front of it three times, and it turns into whatever you want: a place to relax, a place to talk, a place to let some steam out-" Remus said before he was interrupted by Sirius.

"A place to get down and dirty," he said with a wink.

"Who would have thought the great Padfoot," Fred said.

"Would have such a dirty mind!" George finished.

I couldn't help the chuckle at the two as a door appeared behind us. Without us really noticing, Remus had paced in front of the wall the required three times. "That's a door," was all I said when I saw the ornate wooden thing.

"That it is Bambi," Sirius laughed.

"You do know that Bambi was a boy, right?" Hermione, Snape, and I asked at the same time.

"Yeah, but it's adorable sounding. Fits you," Sirius replied slinging an arm over my shoulders walking me through the door after everyone else, "Now, what did you want to talk about?"


	8. Chapter 8

Snape was quick to cover my ears, and Remus was quick to cover Hermione's as Sirius sprouted out all the curse words he knew (and some that Fred and George offered) about the old goat. I looked up at the potions master with a smirk as if to say, "And you wonder where I get my temper."

Sirius gave a nod to the two men and sighed as he sank into the plush chair. "You okay?" I asked.

"Better," he replied, "To be completely honest, I'm seriously thinking that I should take you out of Hogwarts."

"Y-You can't do that! I may not like the Headmaster, but Hogwarts is my home!" I yelled shocked.

"Hold on skippy," Sirius said, "I'm not going to do it. I was just thinking it."

"Right," I said smacking my forehead, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he said with a smile, "Just tell me and we could get you resorted if you need it."

"Thanks Paddy," I said giving him a hug, "We should probably get out of here before Dumbledore starts to suspect something."

"Are you sure you shouldn't be in Slytherin?" Remus asked with a soft smile, but he did notice that I didn't answer and just made my way to the door. Sirius did not.

* * *

We left the room and we just strolled around the castle, talking about this and that. Somehow Remus, Snape, and myself ended up in the back of the group. "So," Remus said in his kind voice, "How did you not end up in Slytherin?"

"I was wondering that as well," Snape said, "Most children who were abused have been in Slytherin because they understand the value of ambition and getting out of that home life." Remus looked sad at the mention of the abuse I had previously suffered, but it went as quickly as it had come.

"I asked the hat, and it agreed," I said as though it was no big deal.

"Any particular reason?" Snape asked.

"Let's just say, your favorite blonde didn't leave me with the best impression," I said giving him a smile before running to catch up with Hermione.

The rest of the night went fairly well. Hermione and I hugged them at the door and Sirius whispered in my ear, "Don't worry Bambi. You'll never have to go there again."

"Richard Harris," I whispered back, "He's my lawyer."

"I'll talk to him," my godfather replied before kissing my cheek, "Sleep well Bambi."

"I've actually slept a lot better since I came back from the Bank," I said with a smile.

Sirius laughed and kissed my head one more time before he and Remus left.

* * *

As we were walking back to the Common Room, I saw Cedric reading by a window. I tapped Hermione on the shoulder and she stopped the twins. I walked over to Cedric and waited for him to notice I was there. It didn't take long for him to know I was waiting on him. "Hey," he said with a smile.

"Hey," I replied feeling my cheeks heat up a little, "How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you?" he asked with a smile.

"I'm good too," I said feeling my cheeks get even redder, "Do you want to h-hang out at some point?"

"You want hang out with me?" he asked a wide smile covering his handsome face.

"Yeah, I would like that very much," I said with a smile, "How about next Hogsmead weekend?"

"I can do that," he replied with a smile.

"Great! See you then," I said with a smile and a nod.

"Shall I pick you up at say... ten o'clock?" he asked with a smile.

"You bet!" I said with a smile. With that, I walked away from him and back to Hermione and the twins.

* * *

We intersected our arms, and we continued walking. Ron was there in the Common Room with Ginny. They were waiting on us. Everyone's eyes found us quickly, but no one but the two weasels approached us.

"Why are you avoiding us Harry?" Ginny asked pretending to be hurt.

"I have no idea to what you could be referring to Ginerva," I said with a glare, "And I would prefer that you use my _real_ name."

"Your real name is Harry Potter!" Ron said getting angry fairly quickly. His face was quickly becoming as red as his hair.

"No," I said in a low growl, "My name is Ember Potter. And just because I am the fairer sex now, does not mean that I will not knock you on your ass if you cross me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Is that a threat?" Ron asked huffing up his chest.

"It's a promise," I said, "And it goes for anyone who thinks that they can take me just because I'm a girl!" I said the last part loud enough so that everyone still in the Common Room could hear. All the girls, besides Ginny, cheered loudly. "And I'm not alone. Good night Ronald, Ginerva."

With that Hermione and I turned on our heels and made our way up the stairs. The other girls were quickly behind us.

* * *

Two hours later, around 11 o'clock in the evening, I collapsed onto my bed with sore feet. "Hey Ember," Hermione said with a sigh, "You want to go to the library tomorrow? We still need to finish our homework."

"Sure," I said with a smile, "I've kind of gotten behind on my work."

"Anyone would if they were in your shoes," Lavender said as she changed into her pajamas. I nodded as I put on my own pajamas and sat down on my bed.

"Did you see the looks that Ron was sending you?" Parvati said with a nervous chuckle, "Almost looked like he was glaring daggers at you!"

"But Ember's was scarier," Fay said with an encouraging smile, "We know she can take care of herself. Though, you do need some help with your black heads."

"I need all the help!" I groaned.

"Well," Hermione said, "Lay your head on my lap and we'll take care of them. We can sleep in seeing as tomorrow is Saturday."

"Oh! A hostile makeover!" Lavender cheered going into the bathroom. She came out with all the beauty potions she owned while Fay brought out all her muggle beauty supplies.

"This is gonna hurt," I said with a gulp when I saw the tweezers in Fay's hands.

"I'll get the black heads first," Hermione said, "then you can get to her eyebrows."

"Sounds good to me. I'll get her nails until your done," Fay answered. Hermione pulled my hair out of my face; she laid me down on her lap and made me look at her.

"Just remember this Ember," Hermione said with a smile, "Beauty is pain."

* * *

By the time I was allowed up from someone's lap, be it Hermione, Fay, or Lavender's, I had this black goop on my face called a "Charcoal Clay Face Mask." I had no idea what it did, but Hermione said that I had to wait for it to dry before I could peel it off.

I felt a little better seeing all the girls wearing varying face masks of their own, but my eyebrows still hurt like hell! Hermione put some "Anti-redness cream" on my entire face.

My nails also looked amazing! Pristine! My hands never looked so healthy. "You girls are amazing!" I said with a smile.

"Don't you worry Ember," Lavender said, her face covered with a lavender mask, "We'll teach you all the ins and outs of being a lady."

"I want to learn French," Hermione suddenly blurted out.

 ***"C'est très romantique,"** I said in French.

"You know French?" Parvati asked shocked.

 ****"Oui. Mon cousin m'a forcé à prendre la classe en son nom,"** I said with a smile, but at their confused faces I repeated myself in English. "Yes, my cousin forced me to take the class on his behalf."

"Could you teach me?" Hermione asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

"I don't see why not," I said with a smile, "Most languages have a Latin based dialect, so it won't be hard for you to understand."

"What other classes did your cousin make you take for him?" Fay asked.

"He made me take his guitar classes, piano classes, karate classes. Basically the classes he was too lazy to complete. The teachers felt sorry for me, so they let me continue them free of charge."

"You never told me this Ember!" Hermione gasped, "You're probably more cultured than anyone else in the school!"

"It's nothing big," I said as I looked at my now red nails, "Things I just learned on the way, you know? Just like flying or magic."

"B-b-but-" Hermione said shocked.

"No buts. I'm just your everyday girl, and nothing is gonna change that," I said smiling, and that's all I wanted to be, "Now I'm going to peel this stuff, and go to bed."

"Don't forget to put on that overnight mask!" Lavender yelled as I went to the bath.

I sighed as I sunk into the warm water. I never really took baths. I was only allowed twenty minutes in the bathroom at the Dursleys' to get everything done. Didn't leave much time for relaxation. I enjoyed it a lot now that I have time to do it.

After all the stuff was off my face, I stretched and sighed. It felt good to be clean. I wiped the mirror clear after wrapping a towel around myself, and I gasped. Having my zits and blackheads popped and my eyebrows plucked made an enormous difference. I looked more like a lady than just a woman. I was surprised! Quidditch also formed my body to where I had a flat stomach, but a beautiful hourglass figure. My legs were strong and toned from clutching onto a broom, and they went all the way up.

I looked at my hair and smiled. It was beautiful long, but I thought it would be a great idea to get some bangs or something to frame my face. I would have to bring this up to the girls when I went back outside. All that really went through my head as I admired my new self in front of the mirror was, 'I'd date me!'

"Ember!" I heard Lavender's voice call out to me, "We need to get in there too!"

"On my way out!" I called. I pulled on my pajamas and left the bathroom. I looked at Hermione and smiled, "Who would have thought a makeover would make you feel so good?"

"Every girl in the world. We have to let our outside selves catch up with our inside selves, and a makeover is the quickest way to do it."

"I'm thinking bangs," I said, "Swoop bangs."

"That would look great on you! We'll do them sometime tomorrow!" she said with a smile, "Goodnight Ember."

 *****"Bonne nuit** Hermione," I said with a sleepy smile. I was exhausted and my eyes were closing before I could even lay my head on the pillow.

* * *

 ***It is very romanitc.**

 ****Yes. My cousin forced me to take the class on his behalf.**

 *****Goodnight.**


	9. Chapter 9

I groaned as I stretched my muscles. It's been almost two weeks since I was turned into a girl, and so far, I couldn't find a bad side. I noticed that I was extremely sore, mostly around my pelvic area. "You okay Ember?" Hermione asked coming next to the bed.

"I hurt," I said pulling back the covers back.

"Oh my," Hermione said looking at the red stained sheets, "I think you just started your first cycle."

"I-I don't feel good," I said getting up and running to the bathroom. Hermione followed after me and held my hair back as I threw the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

"It'll be okay," Hermione said, "We made sure that you are covered with pain, nausea, and bloating potions and all the supplies you will need." I nodded my head as I wiped my mouth. I felt like absolute crap, and I felt dirty all over. "Get into the shower," Hermione said, "It'll clean you up and sooth the muscles."

"O-okay," I said. I took off my bloody pajama bottoms and panties first and I climbed into the warms shower when I was completely nude. I felt just so... icky. There really wasn't any other word for it. I felt gross. Hey! Another word for it!

I was also feeling very aggravated. I hurt, I was hungry, I was dirty, I was just all over the place. I just hoped I would be better by the time the Hogsmead trip came along this weekend.

I had studied up on menstrual cycles. All the literature says that they usually lasted between 3 to 5 days, but it could be as short as 2 days or as long as 7. I had a week until my date with Cedric, and I hoped that I would be done before then.

"The elves already took your sheets and your clothes," I heard Hermione say, "I figured you would want to be comfortable, so I got you some sweats and a hoodie."

"I've never been so glad that we don't have classes today!" I said with a sigh.

"Well, don't think it'll happen all the time. You just have to be prepared when it happens," Hermione said.

"How?"

"You track your period. I'll show you how to later," she said with a smile, "And Dumbledore left you a letter."

"Oh," I said in sarcastic excitement, "I wonder what the great Headmaster Albus Dumbledore would want with little old me?"

"I don't know," she replied as I wrapped a towel around myself, "It's not my letter."

"I'll be there shortly," I laughed. I put the sticky pad on my underwear and stood up. It felt uncomfortable having something like this between my legs, but I would get used to it sooner or later. I then put on the rest of the clothes and walked out of the bathroom. Hermione held up the envelope as I passed her and I took it out of her hands with a "Thank you."

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I need to see you in my office as soon as possible. Sugar Quills are still my favorite treat._

 _Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore._

"Are you gonna go?" Hermione asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not Harry," I shrugged, "My name is Ember."

"Shall we head down to breakfast?" she asked.

"Potions first," I said pitifully.

"Good idea," she laughed and handed me the potions. I downed them all and almost immanently felt a million times better. I sighed and looped my arm around her's and we left the dorms. Fred and George were at the Gryffindor table eating their breakfast.

* * *

"Morning," they said at the same time.

"Not today," Hermione and I said. She said hers in more of a cautious tone while I did mine in a slight growl.

The day kind of went by in a blur of emotions and chocolate ice cream, and before I knew it, it was time for lunch.

"Harry, my boy," I heard the headmaster say softly as he walked up behind us, "I was expecting you hours ago. Did you not get my letter?" I didn't answer him. I didn't even acknowledge his presence, "Harry?" he tried again. Finally, he sighed and relented, "Ms. Potter?"

 **(1)"Oh, je suis désolé directeur. Vous m'appeliez?"** I said turning to him.

The headmaster was shocked. Apparently, he did not know that I had taken French lessons. He shook his head and continued, "Did you not receive my letter?"

 **(2)"Je l'ai,"** I said with a smirk in my voice, **"mais je ne suis plus Harry Potter. Ainsi, je ne voyais pas nécssaire d'y assister."**

"W-well, I would like you to join me in my office to have a little chat," he said. Though he replied in English, I knew he could understand every word I said.

 **(3)"Et que voulez-vous que je vous demande?"** I looked behind him and Draco Malfoy was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"If you come, you will find out," The Headmaster said thinking he had won this battle of wits.

I smiled at him as sweetly as possible and said, **(4)"Eh bien, je préférerais ne pas le savior. Bonne journée Directeur."** With that I stood from my spot with Neville, Hermione, Fred, and George with me.

"What do you want to do now, Ember?" Neville asked with a smile.

"I would like to take a trip to the seventh floor," I said with a smile. We had shown Neville the room in case he had ever wanted to get away from Slytherins or something, and he was extremely grateful.

"We'll go get the snacks," Fred and George said with identical, mischievous smirks playing on their lips.

"I need to go get a couple of books," Hermione said, "I shall see you there."

Neville and me made our way up to the Room of Requirements to see that Cedric was leaning against the wall. "Miss me?" he asked with a charming smile.

"I just saw you yesterday. Are you ready for the first task?" I asked him.

"As ready as I can be," he said nervously, "I just hope it will be enough."

"Hey Cedric," Neville asked, "Do you speak any foreign languages?"

"Not really," Cedric replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Ember can speak French!" the blonde boy replied.

"I was saving that for date material Neville," I laughed at Cedric's shocked face.

"What are you three doing up here?" I heard Malfoy's voice come down the hallway.

 **(5)"Avoir une réunion privée, et vous n'êtes pas invité,"** I said with all the sass I could muster and putting my hands on my hips.

Malfoy smirked and walked closer, **(6)"Ah, mais vous oubliez, j'ai autant le droit d'être ici que vous."**

 **(7)"Y at-il quelque chose que je peux vous aider?"** I asked.

 **(8)"Pas vraiment,"** he replied.

 **(9)"Eh bien, je partais maintenant. Fred, George, et _Hermione_ seront bientôt lá."** I saw a glimmer of fear in his eyes, though his face didn't show it.

"Fine," he said with his nose in the air, "I'm going. Not that I'm scared or anything."

 **(10)"Au Revoir,"** I said waving him goodbye.

"What did you tell him?" Cedric whispered.

"Nothing much, just that Fred, George, and Hermione were on their way," I said kissing him on the cheek. We've been spending almost every day with each other, and it's just been getting more and more fun. I haven't told him everything about my past. That stuff is third date material. We haven't gone anywhere past kisses on the cheek and hugs in the last two weeks, but he didn't seem to want to take it any further.

"You ready to go inside?" Hermione asked as she ran up. She had Hogwarts a History tucked tightly in her arms, and Fred and George were right behind her with woven baskets full of snack in each hand.

"Now we are!" I said happily.

I asked the room for a place where we could relax, hang out, talk, and I could play the guitar. When we closed the door behind us, I watched as it disappeared. It felt kind of good knowing that we had a place that was just for us.

I practically ran to the acoustic guitar and stool. Fred and George usually just sat at the table and came up with stuff that they would put in the joke shop they wanted to own. Hermione would read or talk with Neville about plants that they both liked. Cedric would talk to me or just listen to me play as the hours passed. That's what we were all doing today. We were all doing our separate things, but we didn't feel separated or alone. We felt like we could take on the world.

* * *

"I wanna become an animagus!" I suddenly yelled.

"Yes!" Fred and George cheered liking the idea immensely.

"Oh!" Hermione cried, "I would love to learn how to become one! What would my animal be? Will it be the same as my patronus, or will it be different? Do we choose it, or is it predestined? So many questions!"

"I can see the benefit of it," Cedric said, "It may help in one of the challenges."

"I-I don't know..." Neville said, "W-what if I'm not powerful enough?"

"Neville," I said with a smile and a couple more strums, "We aren't going to force you, but you have to have more faith in your powers. I know you can do it if you want."

"Okay," Neville said with a soft smile, "Let's do it!"

"I'll look it up now!" Hermione said with an excited cheer, "Give me an hour!"

I couldn't help but chuckle as she bounced from foot to foot waiting on the door to reappear. While we waited on her, we sat in almost complete and comfortable silence.

* * *

 **(1)Oh, I'm sorry Headmaster. Were you calling me?**

 **(2)I did, but I am no longer Harry Potter. Thus, I did not see it necessary to attend.**

 **(3)And what do you wish to talk about?**

 **(4)Well, then I'd rather not find out. Good day Headmaster.**

 **(5)Having a private meeting, and you aren't invited.**

 **(6)Ah, but you forget, I have as much right to be here as you.**

 **(7)Is there something I can help you with?**

 **(8)Not really.**

 **(9)Well, I would leave now. Fred, George, and Hermione will be here soon.**

 **(10)Goodbye**


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, we were all silent. We all had Mandrake leaves on our tongues, and they had to stay there for an entire month! We had put notebooks around our necks. Everyone was confused and asked us why we refused to speak. I pulled out a pen and wrote down, "We are refusing to speak to challenge the student/teacher dynamic."

Fred wrote, "Our tongues were cut out while we were kissing a unicorn, and they are slowly growing back."

George wrote the truth, but seeing as it was coming from George Weasley, they didn't believe him.

Cedric wrote that he made a promise not to tell

Hermione said that she was testing the effect our silence would have on others.

Neville said nothing. He just smiled at the others like nothing was different.

Every morning and every night, we meditated and tried to envision our animagus form. To everyone's surprise, Neville was the first one to figure it out. We had a silent celebration for him as well.

Ron and Ginny were always looking at us. They knew we were up to something but couldn't determine what it was. Next Hermione figured her's out, but she took a page out of Neville's book and didn't tell us what it was.

No matter what I did, I couldn't find mine. There was a blurry figure in front of me but I couldn't make out what it was. All I could tell was that it was on four legs and was a mix of gray and white. I wondered if it would be a dog or maybe a wolf. It looked as big, but I couldn't be sure.

On the last night, before we were able to take the leaves off our tongues, I finally saw my form! I decided that we would all see each other's forms this afternoon when we took the potion and classes were over. The potion would react with the mandrake on our tongues and turn us momentarily into our animagus form.

* * *

We couldn't take the leaves off until just before we were going to take the potion, so I was walking down to potions class after breakfast when Weasley stopped me. I couldn't scream or shout as he pushed me against the wall. "You like being a girl, Potter? What you a fag or something?" he growled, "You were supposed to marry Ginny! Can't very well do that now can ya?"

"Oi, Weasley!" we heard a voice say from down the hall. Next thing I know, a very pale hand flew in front of my face and socked Weasley in the nose! The red head was so shocked, he let me go and backed away. I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves silently around my chest and I grabbed onto the arms. I was grateful for the arms and the person who owned them. Who knew what Weasley would have done if they hadn't have intervened.

"Mr. Malfoy," Snape's deep voice said slowly from behind us, "Explain yourself."

"Weasley had pushed Potter against the wall, and he had this look in his eye. I couldn't think of anything else to do," Malfoy's voice explained from above me.

"Ms. Potter," Snape asked as Malfoy let me go, "Is this true?"

I nodded my head and pulled out a pen, "I got too scared and froze."

"Detention Mr. Weasley for two weeks and 50 points taken from Gryffindor for attacking a fellow student, and 10 points from Slytherin for physically assaulting a fellow student," Snape said before smirking slightly, "30 points to Slytherin for defending a fellow student. Now, class is about to start."

* * *

That afternoon, I met up with everyone in the RoR. By this time they had heard what had happened. Cedric looked a little angry, but I couldn't tell why.

Hermione handed us each a vial of the nasty looking potion, and we took the leaves out of our mouths. "Over the teeth, through the gums, watch out stomach here it comes!" I said, and we downed the potions.

I dropped the vial as white hot pain shot its way through my body. Sirius told me about this, and even Hermione told us, after researching it of course, that the first ever transformation was going to be painful, but I didn't think it would be this painful!

I closed my eyes in tried to breathe through the pain. When the pain had slowly ebbed away, I opened my eyes. I was looking at the floor, which seemed a lot closer now. I looked over at the mirror, that was one of the walls and howled in happiness.

In the mirror, I was looking at a beautiful, female, black wolf cub!

I smiled as I looked around the room. Hermione was a little horned owl chick. Her feathers were still in the down state, and she looked so fluffy! She opened her mouth and a little 'cheep' came out of her beak. I wanted to turn back and just pick her up.

Fred and George were identical short haired ginger kittens. I couldn't help but think that it fit them because cats often got into trouble, but they chose who they wanted as their owner and were completely loyal to those they chose.

Cedric was an American Bald Eagle! He was loyal to a fault to anyone he loved. His little gray down feathers looked so soft, and I kind of wanted to pet him for hours! He looked so adorable and the little cheeps he let out were just too cute! I walked over and licked the top of his head and he tried to get away, but he couldn't. Hermione though was running away as fast as her little legs would take her, but a little lion caught her.

Neville's form was a lion cub! He was a lion! He was licking Hermione's head as well and he let out a little high pitched roar like laugh. His fur was the typical golden color, and I couldn't wait to see what he would look like when his mane came in.

Hermione was the first one to change back, and she now had a little lion cub on her shoulder. Then Cedric, Fred, George, me, then finally Neville turned back. We all had proud smiles on our faces as we looked at each other. "I can't believe we did it!" Hermione cheered looking at the five of us.

"I can't wait to tell Remus that I'm a wolf!" I said with a smile, "And did you see the lightening bolt on my hip?"

"It was white! And your eyes looked all that more green, Ember!" Neville said excitedly. I laughed and we all collapsed onto the floor, speaking to the ceiling instead of facing each other.

I told them about what happened that morning on the way to potions class, and Neville, Cedric, Fred, and George all looked like they wanted to go and tear the boy a new one. I completely understood why, but I told them to just let it go. Harris would take care of everything when he could.

Turns out, I didn't have to wait too much longer to take them all to court.

* * *

The next week, everyone was sitting in the great hall eating lunch. Fred was trying to enchant Ron's food to run away from him because of what he did the week before. I have learned to never test a Weasley's patience, but I forgot to tell Harris about it.

Hermione and I were talking about the dresses we were going to wear to the Yule Ball.

"You know, I was thinking of a Cinderella type dress," I stopped talking for just a second when I saw the doors open wide, "Look who's here."

"That Harris?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow. He looked over to the man who entered with three Aurors in their dark red robes.

"Took him long enough," Fred said as Cedric came over and sat down next to me. He looked at Harris as he walked past us.

"That Harris?" he asked hiking his thumb in Harris's direction.

"Yep," I said with a smile.

"Albus Dumbledore?" Harris asked the old man. Dumbledore nodded his head in confusion. Everyone around the man was confused as well, and I couldn't help but smirk. "You, Molly, Ronald, and Ginny Weasley have been served."

"And you are under arrest for the crimes you three committed against Harry and Ember Potter." Two of the aurors came over to the Gryffindor table. Ronald was trying to fight against the auror trying to take him away, but Ginny was just crying hysterically as they pulled her away. "Make this easy on yourself, Headmaster. Come with us and you will not be hurt.

"Served?" McGonagall asked, "Arrested? As in court? Albus, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything Minerva," Dumbledore said, "I'm sure it's just a mistake."

McGonagall did not take that for an answer. She grabbed the paper from the old man and read it quietly to herself.

"You stole from the Potter family? Spied on Ember Potter? Failure and Encouragement of child abuse?! Drugging her?!" she yelled at the man, "Albus... what did you do?"

"These are lies Minerva," Albus Dumbledore said, "When have I ever done anything without it being for the greater good?"

"As you will also see," Harris said, "You, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Weasley are under court order to refrain from talking or interacting with my client from this day forward and through the duration of the trial. Good day Mr. Dumbledore."

I could tell that the "Mr." part rattled the old headmaster. He was so proud of his title, and Harris basically just stepped on him by not using it. The Aurors walked up to him and tried to handcuff him with magic proof chains but Dumbledore moved out of their path.

"I do not intend on coming with you," Dumbledore said. With that, a echoing 'pop' went around the room as he apparated out of the great hall and out of the Hogwarts grounds.

I had a small inkling that this was going to happen so I just sighed and turned back to Hermione, "But yeah, I was thinking something with a bit of color. You know something blue?"


	11. Chapter 11

I was sitting in the Great Hall during study hall playing with my new bangs and passing notes with Fred and George. We were discussing what we would do for the trial. I had told them that it wasn't for a few weeks, just before Christmas Break. I also told them while we were out, Hermione and I were going dress shopping.

"Ms. Potter," I heard Snape's voice say from behind me, "What are these pieces of paper beside you?"

"They're from boys and some girls asking if I would go to the Yule Ball with them," I said with a smile at the potions master, "I'm not answering any of them."

"Why not?" George asked surprised.

"I'm not even going to see who they're from," I replied loud enough for the boys and girls around me to hear, "I want them to ask me to my face. If they don't have the balls to do that, then I don't know about it, and they can ask me to my face when they get the courage."

"That was a very Gryffindor answer, Ms. Potter," Snape said with a smirk.

"I am a Gryffindor, after all sir," I replied with a smile.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, at least 20 men and 5 girls came to me, and asked if I wanted to go to the Yule Ball with them. One of them was Viktor Krum, and it took all I had to say no. I was kind of hoping that Cedric would ask me, but he hasn't yet.

"Why don't you ask him?" Hermione asked as we walked down to dinner, "It is the twentieth century."

"How would I even do that?" I asked, "I don't know how I'm going to do it."

"Walk up to him, and ask. That's all you have to do. The worst he can say is no, and you can move on," she said, "I can even hold off on saying yes to Viktor if you want."

"Why do that?" I laughed, "I got Neville as my back up plan, right Neville?"

"I'm just going for the party, Ember, but I wouldn't mind being your date," he said with a smile, "Second choice is better than last choice. Now go ask Cedric."

I took a deep breath and looked at the boy of my affections, "Give me a push."

"Pushing," Hermione said with a laugh. She pushed me towards the boy and I walked the rest of the way.

"Oh, hey Ember," Cedric said with a smile looking up at me.

I knew I had to go ahead and just ask it, or I would lose all my courage. "Hey Ced," I said, "I was wondering..."

"Wondering what?" he asked turning completely towards me.

"W-would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" I asked. I steeled myself and waited for the answer. I really wanted him to say yes, but I had a feeling in my stomach.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I already asked Cho."

"Oh," I said with a smile, "I must have gotten the signals wrong." I walked away and towards Hermione and Neville again. I had really thought that Cedric liked me. I really thought that he would have asked me, but I guess I got the signals wrong. He must not like me, or I waited too long to ask him. I don't know.

"Looks like your my date, Nev," I said looking up at him. My eyes stung with tears, and my appetite was gone. I gave them a watery smile and left the Great Hall. As soon as I was out of hearing range, I ran. I ran to the Gryffindor Common Room and up to the girls' dorm.

I just needed to cry. I couldn't think of anything else to do right now. I closed the curtains around my bed and buried my face into the pillow.

* * *

The next morning, I felt much better, and it was time for the first challenge. I had no clue what it was, but it had to be something extremely dangerous. I was worried about Cedric, but I didn't let it show. I was going to channel my inner Slytherin and hope that no one would see through it.

I put on a black sweater, fleece leggings, and a red and black mini-skirt. "You look cute," Lavender said with a smile, "and warm."

"It's going to be chilly," I said with a shrug, "And I have to look good for my Yule Ball date."

"Who's that?" she asked with a smile.

I just smiled at them and put on my high heeled combat boots. I pulled on my puffy black jacket, my beanie, my scarf, and my gloves, and I went down the stairs. Neville, Hermione, Fred, and George were all sitting in the Common Room with worried looks on their faces. "What are you all sitting around for?" I asked, "We've got to get to breakfast!"

"Ember?" Hermione asked, "Are you okay?"

"I had a good, long cry, and now I'm ready to face the world... today at least," I said with a smile, "Now Neville, don't you want to be a gentleman and escort me to breakfast?"

"It would be an honor," he said standing up. He held out his elbow to me, and I looped my arm around his.

* * *

After breakfast, Fred and George insisted on escorting Hermione and I to the arena. We found a great spot at the top of the stands, what I wasn't expecting was to see Malfoy up there too. I thought it would be best if I sat next to him to stop everyone from fighting. "That eager to sit next to me Potter?" Malfoy asked me.

"No," I said with a sigh as I sat down, "I'm just trying to prevent Hermione from giving you another right hook." I smiled and pinched his cheek, making the boy blush, "Don't want see that pretty face all bloody."

I smiled as I turned back to Hermione, and we spoke until it was time for the tournament to start. "I was actually thinking of changing my hair color. Something closer to my mother's you know?"

"I think you would look great like that, but I think you should wait until after the Yule Ball. I think that you would look beautiful in a royal blue gown."

"You think so?" I asked. I thought about it for a little bit before yelling across Hermione, Fred, and George to Neville. "Neville! What do you think about Royal Blue?"

"I can pull it off!" he yelled back with a laugh.

"You're going with Longbottom?" Malfoy asked, "You should be going with a real man."

"Neville is a real man," I said looking at Malfoy, "He's brave and there for me when I need him. He's loyal to a fault, and he would do anything to help his friends or to stop them from doing something stupid. Can you say you would do the same?" I gave him a smirk as the canon went off, and Cedric came out of the tent.

Cedric ducked behind a rock and transformed another one into a dog that ran around the arena to distract the Swedish Short-Snout. I was a little offended because it reminded me a bit of my form. A black husky. I gasped when the dragon turned its attention back to Cedric. His face was burned and I had to cover my eyes to hide from the pain that made my butt pucker.

He was okay and he finished the challenge. I let out a sigh of relief when he was healed.

During Fleur's turn, it gave a kind of soothing air. She put the dragon to sleep and went to retrieve the egg. The dragon, though, snored and set her skirt on fire.

"You want to go swimming after this?" I asked Hermione, "RoR?"

"I kind of want a hot tub," Hermione laughed quietly, "Do you think the room would come up with swimsuits?"

"Why would you need swimsuits?" Malfoy asked.

"Wish I could tell you," I said, "But I don't trust you enough yet."

"Seems fair," he said before turning back to Viktor Krum's performance.

"I think so," I said, "But I really want a pool."

"We could ask for both?" Fred asked with a smile, "We'll meet you there."

Viktor had won the first challenge, and we left the arena. He made our way back into the school with everyone, so it was easy to lose Malfoy. Fred and George got to the room before us and had already conjured the door. Neville was right behind us, as he had helped me down the stairs of the arena. I was great on stone, but my shoes kept sinking in the grass.

"We asked for suits and everything," Fred said with a smirk, "We hope you girls like the ones we got for you."

I was worried, but the one they chose for me was actually pretty tasteful. It was a red underwire bikini with matching bottoms. The top would cover all my girls and the bottom covered all the vulnerable places perfectly. It even came with some beautiful wedge heel sandals and a white hip cover-up.

Hermione's was just like mine but completely white with a lavender cover-up and shoes like mine. She looked really good in a bikini and I looked pretty good too. As I looked in the mirror in the changing room, I couldn't help but hum. If it were possible, I'd snog me.

I smiled and made my way down to the pool Neville was already warming up in the hot tub with Fred, but George was doing laps in the pool. That's the first place I went while Hermione made her way to the hot tub.

* * *

After doing about twenty laps in the pool, feeling like no time had passed, I made my way to the hot tub and sat down beside Hermione. "Thanks for taking me to the Ball Nev," I said with a smile, "If there's anyone else you wanna take, just let me know."

"Ember, you're the most beautiful girl in the school, but if I do find someone else, I'll let you know," Neville laughed. We talked for about another hour in the hot tub, until we noticed that it was almost dinner time.

"Oh goodness," I said with a frown, "We should probably think about heading out."

"One second," Fred said before closing his eyes really hard and then opening them, "There is now a change of clothes, all the makeup you could want, even prescription contact lenses in every color and pattern."

"Accessories?" Hermione asked.

"All you could want," Fred smiled. Hermione got up and out of the hot tub almost like a bat out of hell.

"You should ask her out while you still have the chance," I said getting up slower.

"You like Hermione?" George said shocked. I chuckled as I found the door and closed it behind me. I turned around and gaped at the walls of different styles of clothes, make up colors, and accessories.

"Oh Merlin," I said, "I'm in love." I leaned against the door and looked around the room.

"I know right?" Hermione yelled holding up a steampunk skirt, "I think I've found my true self."

"Let's make an entrance," I said with a smile, "Show Cedric what he missed and show Viktor how bad ass you are!"

* * *

Two hours later, we were making our way to the Great Hall. I had sunglasses covering my eyes which had bright red irises and a slit down the center, a red and black plaid mini-skirt, black tank top, fingerless black leather gloves. I had to say, I looked hot and a little bit like a demon.

Hermione was wearing a white shirt with puffy sleeves with an brown leather underbust corset, a brown skirt that was high in the front and long in the back, high brown boots, brown top hat, and goggles around the hat.

We looked amazing, and the boys didn't look bad either. Fred was wearing a wolf graffic t-shirt with torn black pants and combat boots. He also had a black wig planted on his head that covered every bit of ginger hair. He had contacts that made his entire iris look completely black.

George had on a black shirt with bright red flames, and his hair was straitened, covering one of his eyes, which had complete cover black contacts, he had on a black beanie that drooped in the back. His black jeans were neat and pristine, not a tear in sight.

Neville was the odd man out. He was wearing a blue tye-dye t-shirt, blue jeans, blue trainers, a royal blue wig that covered all his blonde hair, and royal blue contacts. He was covered in blue.

I smiled as Fred and George walked to the doors and opened them simultaneously. Every head in the great hall turned to us, and I wrapped my arm around Neville's. He had a cocky smirk on his face, which made him look amazingly confident. "I'm starting to think that this crazy look fits me," he whispered in my ear. I laughed and took off my glasses. I heard a lot of gasps from the Gryffindor table as they saw my eyes.

"You look amazing," I replied, "We all do."

"That you do Potter," Malfoy said, "And I've got a question for you."

"And what would that be?" I asked looking at him.

"Will you go on a date with me?" he asked. I could tell that he was scared, but he went a head and asked me in the middle of dinner, in front of everyone.

"I admire your bravery and the fact that you haven't insulted any of my friends so far," I said, "So I will go out with you, as long as you don't expect anything to happen at the end of the date."

"I am a perfect gentleman and wouldn't dream of it, when?" he asked.

"Not until after the Yule Ball," I replied, "I've got a lot going on until then, and all my attention has to be divided between Neville, the trial, schoolwork, and the Yule Ball. I cannot add a relationship to that just yet."

"Understood," he said with a nod, "Granger, you look good as well."

"Thank you Malfoy," she said, "We can give you a makeover sometime."

"Please," he scoffed, "I'm gorgeous." With that, he turned on his heels and marched back to the Slytherin table, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing.


	12. Chapter 12

_I was sitting in the Common Room with Neville. We were talking about what we were going to wear to the Yule Ball and how Hermione was teaching me how to dance. I heard a thump coming from the girls' dorm. "Hold on Neville," I said touching his arm, "I'll be right back."_

" _Take your time," he said with a smile._

 _I made my way up the stairs as quietly as possible. I didn't want to wake up the other years with my clunky boots. I felt like the stairway was longer than normal for some reason. I marched and marched up the stairs, but I never got any closer._

 _Then something changed. I felt the cold wood of the stairs under my feet, and I looked down. I didn't know how my boots had come off, but they had. Then I looked back up the stairs and took a step. The door was actually coming closer, but my celebration was cut short. There was a thick, gooey, red liquid coming down the stairs like honey. It touched my feet, and it was warm. I dipped my finger in the liquid and brought it up to my nose. It smelled coppery. Metallic smell, thick, red... It was blood!_

 _I ran all the way up the stairs and almost slipped back a couple of times, but I got to my dorm room. The blood was coming out under the door in a steady stream. I slowly opened the door, and I looked into the room. I scream was ripped from my body as I saw all Lavender, Fay, and Parvati's body's on the floor._

 _Dumbledore was standing in the center of the room, Hermione in his arms and a knife to her throat. He had blood covering him from head to toe and an evil look in his eyes shone brightly. He looked me in the eye as he slid the knife with ease through Hermione's neck. "You're next Potter."_

 _I backed away from the door and my back hit the wall. I ran down the stairs and screamed again. Ginny had Gryffindor's sword in her hand and had stabbed Neville right through! "E-Ember..." he gasped as blood filled his mouth. I ran out of the Common Room, blood still on my feet and leaving a trail behind me as I ran down the halls. I ran into someone._

 _I looked up to see Sirius. His arms were holding me tightly so I wouldn't fall. "Ember?" he asked, "What's wrong? Is that blood?"_

" _Sirius! My entire dorm was killed by Dumbledore! You've got to help!"_

" _Ron?" he asked ignoring everything I had just said. I turned around in Sirius's arms and screamed as an ax came flying at my head. I ducked and the ax hit Sirius's chest!_

" _No! Sirius! Neville!" I cried as all three of them started to approach me, "No! Stay away! Away!"_

* * *

I shot up in my bed and gasped for breath. Hermione, Fay, and Parvati were all looking at me with sleepy eyes. "Ember," Hermione asked, "Are you okay?"

"Nightmare is all," I said frowning, "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Not going back to bed huh?" Fay asked as she laid her head down on the pillow again. With everyday closer to the trial, my nightmares were getting worse and worse. Dumbledore still hadn't shown up, and I was scared that he would somehow get into the school with no one seeing him.

I took my shower quickly and then put a zip up hoodie before going down the stairs into the Common Room. Fred and George were sitting there as well.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked sitting next to them.

"We couldn't sleep for the last week," Fred said.

"We're worried about the trial too," George finished.

"Yeah," I said, "I'm probably worried about something different than you two are."

"Yeah, Ron was an idiot, and he deserves everything he gets, but we don't want him to go away for too long," George answered.

"He is our brother after all," Fred finished.

"I'm worried that if they are acquitted..." I said slowly, "They'd come after me. It's stupid, I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. I'm also worried that Bill, Charlie, and your dad will hate me for sending your siblings and mother to prison."

"Everything will be okay, Ember," Fred said, "We already wrote to Dad, and he understands. He's angry with Mum, Ron, and Ginny. He said he should have seen it coming."

"Bill and Charlie were in a bit of denial, but they wrote us last night and told us that they want to apologize for thinking you would lie like that," George said rubbing a circle on my back.

"Sirius and Harris are going to run me through my testimony, so I don't mess up on the stand. They're picking all of us up today," I said.

"We've got enough clothes for the next five days packed," George said with a smile, "Don't worry, we'll tell the truth."

"Of that I have no doubt," I said with a smile.

"Dad said that we can't stay at the Burrow, so we'll be staying at Grimmauld with you and the guys," Fred said, "Am I a bad person because I'm glad we get to miss school because of this?"

I pretended to think about it for a second before nodding my head, "Yes, yes you are."

I smiled for a second before looking into the fire. What if Dumbledore missed the trial? Would he be presumed guilty? Would he come after me? Would Voldemort come after me now that Dumbledore was on the run? Could I get an audience with him? What would Sirius and Remus think if I did? There were so many questions in my coffee deprived brain.

"Did Sirius or Harris mention when they were going to be here?" a sleepy Hermione said from behind me.

"Sometime after breakfast," I replied, "I'm just happy I get to show Padfoot my animagus form."

"You know Padfoot?" Fred asked shocked.

Hermione and I had to stop ourselves from going into hysterical laughter, "Yeah, she knows Moony too."

"You guys knew them and Wormtail too," I said through a strained voice.

"Who were they?!" the twins yelled in excitement. We told them the story and we couldn't contain our laughter at seeing their shocked faces. "Pettigrew was... Wormtail?"

"I have a question," I said raising my hand, "You had the map since first year right?"

"Right," they said.

"The map never lies correct?" I asked.

"Correct."

"Then why did you never say anything about a strange man named Peter Pettigrew in your brother's bed?" I asked. All three of them looked confused at each other. "I'm gonna go finish packing."

As soon as I was out of the room, they started fighting and I heard Hermione yell, "That's why he hates you two!"

I chuckled as I went into the girls' dorm and smiled at the girls. "Are you okay?" Lavender asked looking at me.

"Just nervous about the trial," I said, "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Never just discard dreams," Parvati said, "They always have an underlining meaning."

"I'm just nervous, Parvati," I said with a smile, "I won't be back until the day of the Yule Ball. See you guys then."

"Bye Ember!" they said waving as they left the room. I packed up my nicest most professional clothes, some pajamas and such, toiletries, and some casual clothes. I carried everything down the stairs as with Hermione when she came to grab her trunk, and we went down for breakfast with Fred and George carrying their trunks behind us.

"You guys going today?" Neville asked as we sat down.

"Yeah," Fred said, "Sorry you can't come Nev."

"No problem," Neville said, "Ember and I decided on green for our colors, and I need to go with Nan to pick up my robes. I'll be plenty busy."

"We'll see you Christmas afternoon," I said with a smile, "We won't be gone too long."

"I'll see you on the train," he said with a smile, "Now you may want to eat up, or you'll be hungry when they come to get you."

"Good idea," I said with a smile. I felt someone sit down beside me and I looked up to see Cedric.

"Ember, why have you been avoiding me? Did I do something to hurt your feelings?" he asked looking at me.

"No Cedric," I said, "You didn't do anything."

"Then why?" he asked, "Why haven't you talked to me in almost a month?"

"Because I thought you liked me, and I made a fool out of myself by asking you to the Yule Ball!" I said angrily, "If you had just told me that you didn't like me, I would have been fine."

"I-I'm sorry Ember," Cedric said trying to get his words together.

"Don't be. I've got an amazing date to the Yule Ball," I said as I saw Sirius and Remus walk through the door, "Now if you'll excuse me. Fred, George, Hermione let's go."

They saw Sirius and Remus as well and followed me to greet them. So did Cedric. "Just talk to me," Cedric said racing after us.

"She's had all she needed to say to you Cedric," Hermione said, "You led her on and you broke her heart."

"She can speak for herself Hermione," Cedric barked at my best friend.

"You don't get to talk to her that way!" I said angrily at him, "You've made your mind and your decisions. I'll see you later. Where do we need to go, Sirius?"

"McGonagall's office," he answered, smiling in a nostalgic way, "We'll be on our way in a sec."

"See you then," I said taking my trunk and following Hermione and the twins out of the room.

"Be glad she didn't say goodbye," I heard Sirius tell Cedric, "If she's anything like Lily, goodbye is the last and final word."

"Thank you sir," Cedric said, "I guess the best thing to do is to give her space."

"Too right!" Sirius laughed. We made our way up the stairs and we came to a stop in front of the gargoyle. I couldn't help but think about the trial again as we waited on someone to let us enter. What would Ron say about me there? What would Ginny say? Would they use my recent transformation as an excuse? I sighed as we made our way up the stairs and Sirius told us that we weren't going to Grimmault Place.

"Where are we going then?" Hermione asked confused.

"We're going to Potter Manor," Sirius said with a smile, "It was James and Lily's home before they went into hiding, and it has also been the home to Potters through the generations. It was also my home for years."

"Cool!" Fred and George said.

"I've updated the wards, and now no one can get in without your permission," Sirius said, "The floo password is 'Marauders.'" He smiled and made his way to the fireplace. "Ladies first."

"You go first Hermione," I said with a smile. After Hermione went, I walked up. While I was spinning, I said "Marauders" quietly, and I stumbled out of the fireplace.

I looked at Hermione to see her looking around the room in wonder. I looked around as well and gasped, bringing my hand to my mouth in shock.


	13. Chapter 13

"T-This is beautiful," Hermione said. We had landed in the library and the room was like a dodecagon. It had twelve walls, eleven of them were covered in bookshelves that were all eleven feet tall and were all packed to the brim with books of every shape, size, condition, and age. In front of the fireplace, there was a couch, and behind it, there was a big round table with four chairs surrounding it. Hermione was about to faint, and this was the first room they had come to.

"I've explained to the elves your situation, Har-Ember," Sirius said as he saw us, "and they made up the master bedroom for you. Shall we take the tour?"

"Please," I said excitedly.

"Leave your trunks anywhere, and follow me," he said with a smile. He led us out of the library, much to Hermione's dismay, and we walked into the entry hall. It had a beautiful grand staircase leading up, but Sirius led us across the way to the drawing room.

It was Victorian in design, and it was a lovely mix of blue and white. All the wooden furniture was made out of dark mahogany wood and polished to a shine. There were two round tables in the back corners with two chairs at either table, then closer to the fireplace there was a coffee table with a blue couch on the long side and two chairs on both short sides.

Sirius then led us out of that room and down the hall to the living room. It wasn't much different from the drawing room except that it had three couches surrounding the coffee table. "This room will only be used for family or close friends. Random visitors go into the drawing room," he explained.

"This is the formal dining room, or it could be the meeting room. This will be where any important dinners or meetings will be held," Sirius said as he opened the french doors. The walls to the room were pure white, but the dining room set was made out of black wood and had at least fourteen chairs surrounding the rectangular table. The next door led to the informal dining room with a much smaller similar dining set.

The next place was the study. It was the typical Victorian style with a wall of bookshelves behind the desk, which was facing two chairs, and then further down the room, there was another fireplace two couches and a coffee table between them. The room was your basic browns and besieges. A great place to study.

Then we went upstairs where the master and family rooms were. There were about six bedrooms that weren't the master bedroom and two bathrooms on this floor. Fred and George shared a room, Hermione had her own. "If you all want to hang out and talk, you can do it in one of the rooms downstairs, but boys stay in their room and girls stay in their rooms. Plain and simple."

"We got it Sirius," I said lightheartedly.

"Good. Lunch is at 1 in the informal dining room," he said, "Harris will be coming by at around 2 to go over everything from the case. Over the next few days, we will go over everything to make sure we get a conviction. If Dumbledore doesn't show, he will be presumed guilty at the verdict. The Weasley's will be there any way. Which means you need to cut back on the dagger glares and focus more on the scared puppy dog eyes."

"Which is way easier than you would think," I said with a smile before looking at the rest.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked confused.

"Where's Remus?" I asked.

"In the basement making sure it's strong enough to contain him, why?" he answered. With that, I transformed into my wolf form and ran down the stairs. Two ginger kittens following me. "OH MERLIN!" Sirius yelled happily. Hermione hasn't gotten her adult feathers yet, so I heard her trill as Sirius tried to run after us without her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said.

We ran down to the basement and as soon as Remus turned around, I jumped on him happily with Fred and George not far behind. "Ember?" he asked looking at me, "You're a wolf!"

I licked his face and transformed back into my human form. I was sitting on his chest with a huge smile on my face. "You like?" I asked.

"You're a wolf," he said happily, "Of course I like it!"

"She does kind of look like Padfoot though," Sirius said. Hermione, who was still in his hands nodded, "Have you come up with nicknames yet?"

"Nothing yet," I said, "Just wanted to show you guys before Harris got here. He'd have to report it, and we don't want to register yet."

"I'm so proud of you Cub," Remus said, "But you guys need to get washed and dressed for lunch. Once Harris gets here, it's going to be very busy."

"Alright Moony," I said with a smile. Sirius put Hermione down and she transformed back to her normal self. I smiled as I got into the bathroom and unloaded my makeup. I was only going to do eyeliner and mascara for this visit.

* * *

After a nice lunch of fish and chips, I went off to the study and pulled out a quill that matched the dark red dress I was wearing. I was writing a letter to Gringotts Bank to make sure that I had a copy of the information I got from my last visit. I wanted to have a spare in case Harris's "Mysteriously" disappeared. I didn't have a good feeling about anything. I knew the Manor was safe. I felt the magic as soon as I came in through the floo, but I still had this sinking feeling in my stomach.

I had just sent the letter with Hedwig when a knock came from the door. "Harris is here," Sirius said, "Are you ready?"

"Where?" I asked simply.

"Drawing room," he replied, "Tea's on its way."

"So am I," I said putting the quill and ink away.

We walked to the drawing room and I shook Harris's hand. After I offered him a place to sit, Sirius pulled my chair out for me. After some small talk and some tea pouring, we got down to business. "What's the battle plan?" I asked with a smile. Harris could tell that it was completely fake, but he gave me a reassuring one in return.

"Well, your friends will come up and explain all the things they noticed in you before and after Dumbledore started drugging you, the court will see the memories that you allowed for extraction at the Bank, all you have to do is explain how you felt afterwards," he said, "Now I know it's going to be difficult for you, but you have to behave like the victim you are. So you have to take some acting lessons today."

"Can't I just get up there and tell the truth?" I asked, "I already feel like I'm lying."

"You aren't lying, Pup," Sirius said, "You are a victim, and acting like one isn't lying."

"Don't tell me that Sirius," I said, "I'm too gullible for my own good, and I will believe you."

"I'm telling you the truth," he said, "If you are a victim, there is no shame in acting like one."

* * *

We went over my entire testimony, and I even threw in a couple of tears and a quivering lip at certain points. Harris was impressed, but told me that they would be better here or there. Sirius reminded me that questioning was going to be a rough back and forth. They were going to try to make every and anything I said could be used against me to establish innocence, so I had to be very careful with my temper and my wording.

I sighed as I made my way out of the drawing room. I had already wished Harris safe travels and I was exhausted. This was a long process already, and we haven't even really started. I collapsed onto my bed. My room was beautiful. A king sized canopy bed, a fireplace of my own, with a coffee table and couch behind it. I felt exhausted, and I was pretty sure it was from the lack of sleep.

I got up and made my way down to the kitchens. I wanted to meet the house elves and talk to them before Hermione decided to go on her S.P.E.W campaign. They were all in the kitchen, preparing dinner. I counted them before they could notice me, and I counted ten of them.

"Madam Harry!" one of them called, and they all swarmed around me.

I smiled and tried to calm them down. "Who's the main elf in this joint?" I asked with a laugh.

"That be Rosie," a nicely dressed house elf said walking up to me, "What can Rosie do for Madam Harry?"

"First you can just call me Ember, or if it will make you feel any better Madam Ember," I said, "Secondly, I would love to know how conditions are around here. I want to know if you are happy working here, and if you have anything you want to change."

"Elves would not dare to complain, Madam Ember," Rosie said.

"Listen everyone," I said addressing the room, "I want you guys to be able to come to me with anything. This is your home too, and I want you guys to feel like it. I'd rather not, but if I have to order you to come to me with any problems, I will. I'd rather you guys be comfortable enough with me to know that you can come to me with anything. If you want to have babies, come to me. If you don't like how you're being treated, come to me. If you want new uniforms, I'll lay them on the ground so you can happen upon them and you won't have to leave. If someone tricks you into taking clothes, but you don't want to leave, come to me and you won't have to."

"Yes Madam Ember," Rosie said with teary eyes and a smile, "Is there anything else you need?"

"I need you to get me some yarn. Enough to make..." I counted on my fingers for a second, "Eleven sweaters. Can you get them in the guys' favorite colors?"

"Yes Madam," Rosie said as she popped out of the room. She came back about five minutes later with a basket of yarn and a wide assortment of knitting and crochet needles. "Rosie also got you some needle point supplies. Me think that you would find it soothing. Me's also got you some books from the library on knitting. Madam Lily enjoyed it, and found it calming."

"Thank you Rosie," I said taking the oversized basket from her, "You may all go back to as you were."


	14. Chapter 14

I groaned as I noticed I had skipped another stitch, and it was way down there too! I was getting aggravated at my own stupidity. I couldn't sleep again, and I was trying to make sweaters for everyone. I knew this would be the first year that the Weasley's: Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron and Arthur wouldn't get a sweater from Molly, and I hoped that if I made one for them, it would lessen the blow. I was sitting in my room, knowing that they wouldn't come in here without giving me some time to hide everything.

I tried it again and smiled as I got it this time. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I had already gotten Fred and George's out of the way. Fred's sweater was violet with a lavender F on the front, and George's was lavender with a violet G on the front.

I was working on Bill's and it was going to be Navy Blue with a silver B on the front. I couldn't help but think it was Ravenclaw colors, but Bill was insanely smart.

I was thinking to make Charlie's a sky blue sweater with a royal blue C on the front to match his eyes. I was actually making a sweater for every Weasley. I didn't want any hard feelings with anyone, and I felt pretty terrible about sending them to the cold cells in Azkaban.

I looked at the sweater I made for Ron. It was teal with a black R on the front, and I felt sad. Why would he do this to me? What did I ever do to him to make him hate me so much? If he needed the money that bad, I would have given it to him; all he had to do was ask.

I felt my eyes stinging with tears. I was crying a lot lately, but it wasn't because of my monthly. That had come and gone two weeks ago, but I was extremely emotional. I don't know if it was because all of this was finally kicking in, or if it was because I missed who I thought was my friend.

I still remember third year, when he stepped between Sirius and me, thinking he was a mass murderer. What would make a person go from that to the person who was in Azkaban now. I looked into the fire and pulled my knees to my chest. I missed my old friend. I pushed my eyes onto my knees and started sobbing into them. I hated feeling this way. He betrayed me! He hurt me, and I can't trust him anymore! I still missed him though.

"Dammit!" I sobbed into my knees. I hated Ron Weasley, but I missed the boy that was my best friend. I needed to find out why, or I would never be able to get over this.

* * *

The day of the trial came quickly with all the exploring and crocheting I had going on. I was going to look into Ron's face as he told everyone what he was thinking when he and his sister drugged and spied on me.

I was wearing a white button down shirt with a navy blue pencil skirt, blazer, and matching heels. My hair was done in beautiful soft waves and it went down my back or over my shoulder. Harris was very confident that we will be the winners, but I still felt terrible.

I looked at Sirius and tried my hardest to keep a brave face. Apparently, there was going to be a surprise witness that Harris wouldn't tell me about. Also, Ron had asked for Veritaserum for when he was questioned. That just told me that he had nothing to hide and he was going to speak what he thought was the truth.

"Malfoy?" I asked looking at the blonde, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the surprise witness," he said, "I've been watching you for years. Did you really think I wouldn't notice a change?"

"You've been watching me?" I asked with a smile. I sat down with him and looked down at the court room from above. I looked at the three chairs that were there, with the magic restraining chains on them. I couldn't believe that they were going to chain them up for all to see. Like animals in a zoo! Ever since the incident at the zoo when I was eleven, I never really agreed with locking animals up.

Ron, Ginny, and Molly were brought in and placed in the chairs before being shackled. I heard Malfoy chuckle from beside me. I slapped him on the leg, so no one would see. "Careful Malfoy or you may lose that date."

"Yes ma'am," he said shutting up.

Fred leaned in to my ear and whispered, "Use these new found powers for good."

I had to stop myself from laughing as the court commenced. Ron looked around the courtroom from where he was in the center. He looked directly at me. He looked so sad and pitiful, but he looked up at me with his blue eyes, and I saw something. It was like he was begging me for forgiveness with just his eyes. I didn't know if he truly meant it or if he was just trying to get into my head.

"Court is now in session, Minister Fudge presiding. Plaintiff, call your first witness."

"We call Ember Potter, Formally Harry Potter, to the stand," Harris said standing up. I made my way down to the stand, and I sat down.

"Miss Potter," Harris said with a kind, mysterious smile, "How are you today?"

"Nervous, sad, angry... disappointed. A lot of things really," I said looking at the man.

"Why are you sad?" Harris asked with a smile.

"Ron was my best friend for years," I said, "Molly was like a mother to me for almost as long. I hate to think that our entire relationship was just so they could get money from me."

"Can you tell me what these three did to you?" Harris asked.

"Actually, Albus Dumbledore was the ring leader. He got Ginny Weasley to drug me with love potions that Molly Weasley made. They all also took money that Dumbledore stole out of my vaults," I answered.

"Exhibits A and B, forms from Gringotts Wizarding Bank listing the spells and potions used on Miss Potter and amounts of money stolen from her vaults," Harris said handing the papers to Minister Fudge. "Can you explain to us how you felt after you found out everything they did to you?"

"Hurt, angry, betrayed. I felt like I wanted to hit someone. I wanted to cry my heart out. I wanted them to feel the pain I felt, but I didn't. I didn't do any of that. I went to you. I felt the justice system would do a better job at taking care of them then me."

"That was very grown up," Harris said.

"I had some help. My friend Hermione Granger and one of my teachers, who I will not name to protect his privacy."

"I have no more questions at this time," Harris said with a smile at me. The Weasley's lawyer, some two-bit hack who had a couple glasses of firewhiskey, if his breath was anything to go by, came up to me.

"Hello Mr. Potter," he said.

"Actually, it's Miss Potter now, sir," I said calmly.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I thought these charges were for the things my clients supposedly did to Mr. Harry James Potter."

"Is there a question here?" Harris asked in objection.

"Give me a minute," the lawyer replied, "Have you had any changes, besides physical, since you were turned into a woman?"

"I have," I replied, "I turn into a demon for around three to five days out of the month."

I heard everyone in the room chuckle as I said this.

"Your emotional changes didn't start right away?" he asked.

"No sir, these emotional changes started about a month after I was turned into a girl," I answered.

"But it's safe to say that you were angry at the fact that your manliness was... stolen from you?"

"Not really," I said, "It was my own stupid mistake, and I've come to terms with it. I wasn't angry with Ron or Ginny until I heard a conversation when I was coming to in the hospital wing."

"Who was this conversation between? What was it about?" the lawyer asked.

"It was between Albus Dumbledore, Ron Weasley, and Ginny Weasley. Ginny said that she couldn't marry me now, and Dumbledore said that he could marry me off to one of the other Weasley brothers. I didn't understand what that meant at the time. I had just turned fourteen. I wasn't thinking about marriage. After Ron adamantly refused to marry me as well, they left the room."

He made a face, angry that he couldn't get me to lose my temper, "No further questions."

"Am I done now?" I asked the Minister with a smile.

"You are," he said, "You may go back to your seat Miss Potter."

"Thank you Minister," I got down and did as instructed.

"Next we call Fred Weasley to the stand," Harris said. Fred stood up and made his way down.

One after one, all my friends went up there and told the court about the changes they had seen in me and in their siblings over the last years. How I used to want to just stay out of trouble, but how just before Halloween, I had started to get reckless and started doing stupid things like try to beat down a troll, or running after our crazy DADA teachers.

McGonagall even got up there and told the entire court that she believed that Dumbledore was hiring dangerous teachers on purpose. Finally, it was Ron's turn on the stand. Even after my testimony, he still had that kicked puppy look on his face, and I still couldn't make out why he kept sending it to me. Not to the members of the Wizengamot, he was looking at me.

He was allowed out of the chains long enough to get to the stand and the Virtaserum was administered. "State your name for the court, please," the administer said.

"Ronald Billius Weasley," Ron said.

"Billius?" Malfoy asked from beside me.

"His father had a brother named Billius who died," I explained in a whisper.

"That's actually pretty noble for a Weasley," Malfoy said with an impressed look.

"I will hit you again," I said without looking at him. After a few more basic questions, the administer nodded his head and moved away from the stand.

"Mr. Weasley," Harris said, "There is enough evidence that has been stated here to put you away for life in Azkaban. What could we possibly learn from you now?"

I looked at Ron and steeled myself for his explanation. "If I may tell you a little story?" he asked Harris and the Ministry.

"Will it help you to get us to understand why all this took place?" Minister Fudge asked.

"Yes sir," Ron said honestly. Every word he said was honest now.

"I'll allow it," Minister Fudge said with a nod of his head.

"It all started on September 1st of our first year," Ron said slowly but loud enough to be heard, "We were in the muggle part of Kings Cross Station, and I saw this tiny little boy who looked like he hadn't eaten in a week. I wanted to protect him. I wanted to make sure that no one would hurt him. I made friends with him, much to my Mum's excitement. I was his friend, I wanted to be his friend. I still do, but I noticed the changes in him just like everyone else. The thing is, it didn't take me long to figure out that Dumbledore was behind all of this, but I was stupid enough to tell my Mum about it. She told Dumbledore and I've been under the Imperious Curse for three years. When Dumbledore ran, his concentration slowly allowed me to be myself again."

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. My other hand grabbed on to the closest thing I could reach. It just happened to be a very shocked Draco Malfoy's hand.

"What about the money your family was receiving from Albus Dumbledore for your services?" Harris asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That money was given to my mother for her 'troubles' of having her son put under the curse," Ron answered with a scowl sent to his mother. "I don't care what happens to me anymore," Ron said looking back at me, "I want to apologize to Ember for all the crap I put her through, and I hope that she can forgive me for all the idiotic things I've been forced to do."

"Were your mother or your sister ever under the Imperious Curse?" Harris asked.

"Never. All they cared about was the money," Ron said glaring at his mother and sister.

"If the charges brought against you were to be dropped, would you ever betray, spy, or steal from Ember Potter again?" Harris asked.

Ron looked up at me again before turning back to Harris.

"No. I know that earning her trust back will take a long time, but I am willing to go down that long road just to be her friend again. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that... again."

"I move that the charges brought against Ronald Weasley be dropped, for he was under the Imperious Curse and did not do any of this on his own accord," Harris said.

"Motion granted," Minister Fudge said banging his gavel, "Ronald Weasley, you are free to go home to your family after a physical at St. Mungo's." The shackles were taken off of Ron and he looked at his wrists as if it weren't even possible. "On the cases against Molly and Ginny Weasley and Albus Dumbledore, deliberation will now commence. Raise your hand for guilty, keep it down for innocent."

I was almost crying as most of the hands in the room shot up without a second thought. They were all found Guilty. Ron was free. I almost wanted to hug him, knowing the truth, but I couldn't. I couldn't trust him yet.

We got outside the Ministry, and Ron was with standing with his father, Bill, and Charlie. "Are you going to be okay, Ember?" Fred asked, "It's only a week until Christmas."

"I'll be fine guys," I said with a smile, "Go spend time with your family."

"You're our family too," George said, "At least come and say hello and goodbye to them. Please?"

"You're gonna do the- Don't do the puppy dog eyes!" I begged as they looked at me with the cutest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. "I hate that I taught you how to do that!"

"Is that a yes?" Fred asked.

"Come on," I said walking towards the Weasley men. Bill and Charlie were red in the face as they looked at me. I would have thought that it was in anger if their jaws weren't hanging to the floor.

"Hello Har-Ember," Arthur said as he saw us, "Thank you for telling the truth up there. We needed to hear it."

"It's no problem," I said with a smile, "I just wanted to check and see how you guys were doing. I may come over after sometime after Christmas and see how your getting along."

"We could be better," Arthur said, "I've gotten very lonely in the house with Molly not there anymore. McGonagall said that Ron will be rejoining the student body after Christmas Break. He will have to take some extra lessons to catch up, but he should be fine."

"That's great Arthur," I said with a smile.

"Y-You look amazing close up, Ember," Charlie said with a wild blush on his cheeks.

"I agree," Bill said with a charming smile.

"E-Ember?" Ron asked looking up at me, "Would you like to get a cup of coffee sometime over the break? I'd like for us to get to know each other again."

"As long as Hermione can be there," I said grabbing my best friend's hand and pulling her closer, "You were right. It will be a long time before I can trust you again."

"Who won the first challenge?" he asked with a smile, "I didn't get to see it."

"Krum took first place, by tying the dragon he got in ropes. Cedric came in second with a rock transformed into a dog, and Fleur came in last by putting the dragon to sleep," Fred said really fast.

"I'll write you with my next free day," I said to Ron, "But I would like one thing first."

"Anything," he said.

"I want a vow on your magic that you will not knowingly betray me," I said.

"I swear on my magic that I will not knowingly hurt you, so mote it be," Ron said looking at me in the eyes. I felt his magic tie with mine as the vow was sealed. I nodded my head, and I turned my head to Fred and George before kissing them each on the cheeks, "I'll see you at the Yule Ball."

"See you then Em," Fred said.

"Can't wait to see your dress, Ber," George said with a smile.

"Oh!" I said, "We've got to go get our nails done! Then the facials!"

Hermione looked at her watch and gasped, "We're going to be late for our appointments!"

"We've got to find Sirius!" I yelled. Running in heels had become much easier thanks to Hermione's teaching. We found Sirius quickly and as we got into a cab, I sighed. "Thanks for playing along. It was super awkward having Bill and Charlie staring at me like that."

"We still have an hour before our mani-petis," Hermione said with a smile, "Wanna get some coffee?"

"Can we Sirius?" I asked.

"I don't know Bambi," Sirius said, "Last time I let you have coffee you were hanging from the chandelier for hours."

"It wasn't my fault the barista gave me an extra two shots of espresso in the hopes I would give him my cellphone number... what's a cellphone?"

"No clue," Sirius said, "Fine, but I'll order it so he won't know which one is for you."

"Good idea," I said. I had learned long ago that three shots at a time was my limit. Anything else is too much. I smiled as Hermione, Remus and I went to go get a seat. Sirius came back four minutes later with a holder of coffee cups.

"Alright, Pumpkin Spice Latte for Remus," Sirius said handing out the drinks, "Hot Green Tea for Hermione, Caramel Macchiato for Ember, and Peppermint Bark Mocha for me."

"Thank you," I said pulling my drink to me.

"You need your nails done," Hermione said, "Such beautiful, soft hands, but your nails are a mess!"

"At least I'm not biting them!" I said with a smile taking my hand away from her grasp, "We're getting them done today, so you don't need to worry much longer."


	15. Chapter 15

I stood in front of a cafe with Hermione. We were waiting on Ron, and we were freezing our butts off while we were at it. London today was 0 degrees Celsius. It was freaking cold! "I'm going to kill him!" I ground out, "If he even shows up!"

"He probably just got confused on how to use a taxi or something," Hermione said as she danced from one foot to another trying to stay warm.

"Says the girl who looks like she has to pee," I said.

"You're just angry cause your cold," she said with a chuckle, "You may want to have Madam Pomfrey check into that when we get back."

"You may be right," I said giving her a look.

"You aren't going to do it are you?" she asked as another black cab passed the cafe.

"Nope," I said as finally a black car came up, and I could see a red head through the window, "Finally."

"He your friend?" the cabbie asked, "He's been bugging the snot out of me. It's almost like he never handled money before."

"He's foreign," I explained handing him a 50 pound piece, "Keep the change."

"Thank you," he replied taking the money. Hermione was getting Ron out of the car, and as soon as she closed the door behind him the guy took off.

"Sorry I'm late," Ron said, "I couldn't figure out the currency."

"It's alright," I said, "Let's just get inside. Coffee is on me. I need something warm."

Hermione went to get the drinks after I gave her the money, and Ron and I went to the corner table. I was taking off my jacket, scarf, and gloves with Ron watching me. "What?" I asked looking at him.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I can't tell you enough that I'm sorry for what I did to you. I don't think I could ever forgive myself."

"You told the truth Ron," I said, "You're forgiven, but not forgotten yet. That will take time."

"I think the barista has learned your order," Hermione said making a face.

"Oh no," I said cringing.

"Oh, I can't wait to see what fresh hell he's brewed for us today," Hermione said laughing.

"What?" Ron asked raising an eyebrow.

"If Ember has too much espresso, she likes to go climbing and swinging on things she's not supposed to," Hermione explained, "But she can't put it down. She has an addiction."

I took a sip, and I tasted the extra sugar that was trying to mask the extra shots. I could tell that there were more than two extra shots this time.

"Oh God," I groaned as I took another sip. We continued talking and talking as the caffeine kicked in.

"So," Ron said, "Who are you two going to the Yule Ball with?"

"I'm going with Viktor Krum, but Ember is going with-"

"I'm going with Neville. He's so sweet and adorable and a great dancer. Did you know his Gran has been teaching him how to dance as long as he could walk? I didn't know that. He's been helping me out a lot too. We're wearing green to match my eyes and to go with Neville's skin tone. Then sometime after Christmas holiday I have a date with Malfoy. He says he wants to make up for all the crap he put me through too, and I'm thinking of having Fred and George tail us to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," I said all of this very fast and in one breath.

"You're going on a date with Malfoy?" Ron asked with a shocked look on his face, "Didn't see that one coming."

"Too much?" I asked feeling the energy run through my veins, "Take it away from me." I handed Hermione my coffee to get it as far away from me as possible.

"I don't mind you going on a date with Malfoy," Ron said, "I don't have a say in the matter."

"Awesome," I said with a smile, "We'd love to hang out some more Ron, but we still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do. Plus, we have to go get our dresses. They should be done now, and I need to get Sirius something to keep him from pranking the entire household, and I think that Remus would be happy about it."

"I could come with you if you want," Ron said.

"No can do Ron," Hermione said as we put on our layers, "We're doing most of our shopping in Muggle London, and we're on a time limit. You'd just slow us down. It was really nice to see you though."

"We'll talk more when we get back to Hogwarts," I said with a smile, "Hermione we're going to be late for the final fittings, and the stores are going to close soon."

"Shoot," Hermione said looking at her watch, "We've got to go now."

"Bye," Ron said waving at us as we left.

"Bye Ron!" we called back as I pulled my beanie on. I wasn't lying when I said that we had to leave this time. We needed to hurry up and get to the stores, or we wouldn't make it in time.

I sighed as I collapsed into the couch. All the shopping was done. All the wrapping was done. Now all that needed doing was the napping. "No time for that Ember," Sirius said, "We've got to practice."

"Hermione's been teaching me how to dance in heels since I was turned into a girl, Pads. I'm good."

"Have you ever danced with a man?" he asked, "You do know that you can't lead, right?"

"Tell that to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers," I replied. Sirius gave me a look, and I sighed, "You can ask Hermione; she's led every time. Can I take a nap now?"

"Show me what you've learned and you may," Sirius said before walking out of the living room. He led me to the ballroom, which was somehow missed during the initial tour.

I sighed as Sirius waved his wand towards the instruments that were in the room, and he stepped up to me. We waltzed around the room until the song was done. I stepped away from him and smiled. "I told you," I said.

Sirius looked impressed, and he smiled at me as well. "To be honest, I just wanted to hang out with you for a little bit. I feel like you've been avoiding me lately."

"Sirius," I said, "I've been working on some things for Christmas. I'm sorry."

"Will you clear up some time to sit in the library with me and have some hot chocolate?" Sirius asked, "We haven't really been able to talk about how life has been since you were changed."

"Sure," I said with a smile, "Let me just get some things from my room, and I'll meet you there."

Sirius pulled me into a hug and kissed my head. With Fred and George back at the Burrow, the Manor was really quiet. I walked up the stairs and got my new needle point stuff. I hadn't stopped since I finished the sweaters. It gave me something to do, and it kind of calmed my mind. I was still using the training stuff, but it was actually pretty fun.

* * *

Remus came in a while later and looked at us. Sirius was reading a book with my legs in his lap. He was petting them gently while I was doing my cross stitch. I was working on the alphabet, and I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings. All I knew was that he was there.

"You two look comfortable," he said with a soft smile.

"Oh, hey Moony," Sirius said looking up at his friend, "When did you get there?"

"A couple of seconds ago," he replied, "What are you doing, Ember?"

"I'm teaching myself how to cross stitch," I said, "Rosie recommended it."

"Rosie?" Sirius asked.

"The house elf?" I asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes.

"Be nice. Just because we're taller than they are, does not mean that we have to look down on them," I said smacking him lightly on the shoulder, "They have to clean up your messes anyway, so show them some respect."

"You sounded so much like your mother just then," Remus said with a smile. I hated being compared to them. First it was my father and now it was my mother. Would I ever be able to be my own person? Boy or girl, I was me. Just me.

"I'm, uh, getting tired. I'm going to head to bed," I said getting up from the couch. I sighed as I closed the library's door. One day I wouldn't be compared to them. One day, I'll make my fame on my own. I won't just be the boy-who-lived or the girl-who-conquered. I wanted to be me, and be a great person who will be remembered for kindness and compassion.

I made my way to my room, but before I could get there, Hermione came out of hers. "Ember, can we talk?" she asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Sure," I said, "You want to go into my room and talk?"

"That would be great," Hermione said with a smile.

When we got to my room, I called Rosie and asked the elf to bring us some hot chocolate. "She makes the best hot chocolate," I said with a smile. I patted the elf on the head sweetly before she popped out of the room. "What did you want to talk about Hermione?"

"I don't know what I want to do when we leave Hogwarts!" she said worried, "I mean there are so many choices! Healer, Ministry Worker, shop owner, Mistress in a field, author, Teacher! I can't chose."

"I know how you feel," I said with a sigh, "My dad was an auror and my mum was a healer and Charms Mistress. I don't even know what my talents are, besides quidditch, let alone what I want to be when I grow up. I just know I don't want to be surrounded by death for the rest of my life. You also have muggle options."

"Oh! Damn you!" she yelled, "Oh look what time it is."

I looked at the clock on the wall and smiled, "Merry Christmas Hermione."

"Merry Christmas Ember," she said, "I'll let you sleep. See you in the morning." She hugged me tightly before leaving my room. I called Rosie again and asked her to please put the presents under the tree and to get the Weasley's gifts under their tree. She did as asked and I changed into my pajamas. I still had three years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. All I needed to think about right now is Christmas and the Yule Ball.


	16. Chapter 16

I groaned as I looked up at the dog that was licking my face. "Padfoot!" I yelled pushing him away, "I'm up!"

"Good!" he said transforming back into his usual self, "Let's go eat!"

"I'm coming!" I laughed as he jumped off the bed. I smiled as he ran out of the room and down the stairs. I put on my slippers and a hoodie. With a house this big, it was always cold during the winter. Even with all the fireplaces lit, I couldn't help but shiver. I was wondering how we were going to keep cool during the summer. Hermione was going to spend the rest of the holiday with her parents and during the Summer Holidays, she was going with them to France.

I had no clue what I would do for the holidays when she was gone. I put on my slippers and made my way down the stairs. At the informal dining room table, there were waffles of every shape and size and all the toppings you could imagine.

"Rosie," I said in shock, "This looks amazing! Thank you."

"House Elfes live to serve, Mistress Ember," Rosie said with a proud smile.

"Happy Christmas Rosie," I said patting her head. She smiled widely and popped out of the room. We fixed our breakfasts and ate happily. When we were done with breakfast, Sirius pushed us all into the living room. I was stunned to see the large amounts of presents under the tree. I had gotten everyone at least two gifts: The sweaters and something more personal.

Sirius waved his wand and the presents handed themselves out. Hermione, Sirius, and Remus almost looked scared when they saw the soft packages, until they saw the name on them. They opened the packages and smiled. "You made us sweaters?" Hermione asked with a smile on her face.

"I made them for everyone," I said, "I thought it would help cushion the blow for the Weasley men."

"So this is what you've been working on?" Sirius asked with a smile, "They look so good!" He pulled it over his head, and he smiled at me. I smiled as I looked around the room. Hermione was wearing hers as well and she was hugging herself.

"It's soft," she said simply.

I just couldn't stop smiling. Everyone liked their sweaters. I opened up all my gifts and laughed like a maniac when I found the broom that Sirius got me. My Firebolt was made for all positions on the quidditch team, but the Golden Flier was just for seekers. It was thin and lean like a seeker should be and it was flexible enough for tricks, and short enough that when I dived for a snitch, I would be able to pull out of it without hitting the grass.

Remus got me a book on magical sex changes and how to deal with your changes easily, and also a book on how to be a lady. It had chapters on posture, manners, and how to embrace my femininity.

Hermione smiled as I closed the box she had gotten me. It had ladies underwear of every cut and color. It also had corsets and all other kinds of lingerie. "I also have one for you upstairs," she whispered with a wink, "It'll take the edge off."

"I don't want to know," I said with pink covering my cheeks.

I even got a gift from Neville who gave me a month's supply of chocolate and a beautiful black leather bound diary that had a lock on it. I could already feel the cavities coming on as I looked at the chocolate.

After presents, we were going to have lunch before we went to go get ready for the ball. Hermione and Sirius had asked the Weasley men to come and eat with us and hang out with them before Fred, George, Hermione, and I had to go catch the train. It would just be easier to go as a group, so that's what we were going to do.

"Hey Potters, Grangers, Blacks, and Lupins," Bill said as he stepped through the floo. He was smiling brightly and I had the great idea to take Hermione's gifts up the stairs and into my room before any of them could get a look.

* * *

I came back down to see them all enjoying a cup of tea. Ron smiled as he looked at me and so did Bill and Charlie. "Where's Percy?" I asked, "I would have figured he would be with you guys during Christmas."

"He's still under the Ministry's thumb," Fred answered as he stood, "Now let's eat! Dad can't make breakfast too well."

"I tried my best," Arthur said getting up as well, "Thank you for the sweaters Ember. It was nice to have some form of normalcy."

"I just wanted to help out a little," I said with a smile, "I also thought teal would go great with Ron's eyes."

"I like it more than the maroon ones Mum made," Ron said with a chuckle. He was slowly getting back to the Ron I used to know, but I can't really be sure if he was ever really my friend. Ron used to be really clingy when I was a guy, but it was because he was spying on me. What if he wanted nothing to do with me later?

After a very fun lunch, Hermione and I went into my room to do hair and make up. By the time we were done, my hair was in soft curls pulled into a beautiful ponytail with my bangs and just a few deliberately free strands of hair framing my face. Our makeup was done in a way that made it look like we weren't really wearing any.

"Are you ready to put on our dresses?" she asked with a smile.

" **Oui, mais nous allons regarder vraiment drôle entrer dans la gare en tenue formelle,"** I said in French. I knew it got on her nerves that I was so good at something she was only moderate at.

"Okay," she said, "Say that again, but this time say it in English!"

I laughed before I repeated, "Yes, but we are going to look really funny going into the train station in formal wear."

"You really are going to have to teach me how to speak French," she said, "Also, no one will care. They'll just think that we're on our way to a party or something."

"Which we are," I said before taking my dress out of the closet. It was a short-long deal that was emerald green, like my eyes. It had what Hermione had called a sweetheart neck line and these gemstones that made a big star on one of my sides. The silver gladiator heels I put on were beautiful, and they went beautifully with my jewelry. I had emerald and diamond earrings and a simple emerald and diamond pendant around my neck.

Hermione's periwinkle dress looked amazing on her and her hair was now straight thanks to some stuff she put in her hair. It was pulled up into a beautiful bun. I had to push down the urge to say "Damn we look good."

* * *

We walked down the stairs and everyone looked up. Fred and George's jaws dropped when they saw us. They were used to either seeing us in casual clothes or in our uniforms. Fred was looking more at Hermione than he was at me, and I couldn't help but wink at him as we passed.

"Y-You two look amazing," Ron said trying to pick his jaw off the floor. Bill and Charlie kind of nodded dumbly as they stared at us.

Sirius came up with a camera and insisted that we take pictures. I started laughing around the tenth and Fred and George were begging him to let us go to the station. I had to admit that my feet were starting to get sore, so Sirius took us to the station and helped us get on the train. Neville found us as we were looking for a seat, and took us to the one he had found.

"Ember, you look amazing!" he said with a smile, "I got this for you." He pulled out a beautiful white rose wrist corsage with green leaves and a green ribbon that would go around my wrist.

"It's lovely Neville," I said with a smile. I moved to sit next to him, "Would you like to put it on me?"

"It would be a pleasure," he said with a smile. He wrapped the thick ribbon around my wrist and tied it into a very pretty bow. "I'm a little too good at that."

"You're just good with your hands Nev," I said with a smile and a kiss to his cheek, "There's nothing wrong with that."

"I know I already said this to you, but you look beautiful Ember. The dress makes your eyes pop," Neville said with a smile and a blush.

"Don't tell me your falling for me too Nev," I said jokingly.

"You don't have to worry about that," he replied, "I already like a girl from Ravenclaw, but I was too scared to ask her."

"What?" I asked shocked, "I could have been your wing girl!" Everyone in the compartment laughed at my joke, and we settled in for the long ride back to Hogwarts. We wouldn't be back until after the sun came up the next day, but holidays are for having fun and being with family. I couldn't really do that from the halls of Hogwarts.

* * *

When we got there, Neville helped me off the train and into a carriage. These heels were really hard to walk on soft ground with, but they were beautiful none the less. The pain was well worth the beauty.

Neville held out his hand to me when the carriage stopped and he had gotten out. I grabbed it and smiled as I climbed out. Fred was out next, and he and George helped Hermione out of the carriage. I smirked at Fred as he held his arm out to Hermione.

"You do realize that Fred is going to have a hard time letting her go, right?" Neville whispered into my ear.

"Maybe it will give him the push he needs to ask her out," I said with a smile on my face, "Now let's go beautiful."

"Yes ma'am," he said. Neville held his head high and led us to the door. I smiled thinking that we looked like the alphas of a pack of lions. We kind of were in a sense of the words, but it never showed more than it did right here.

When we came through the door, the champions were standing in front of the great hall doors, waiting on their dates. Viktor smiled when he saw Hermione, and he took her to his side. We told Hermione that we'd see her inside, and we left her to her date.

I felt Cedric's eyes following me as we walked passed him and Cho. I could tell that he was shocked but not much else. We walked in and I saw Seamus and Dean, who were there with Lavender and Parvati. "Seamus! Dean! Lav! Parvati!" I cheered happily as I walked up to them.

"Ember!" Lavender and Parvati cheered as well. We hugged quickly and talked about how our holidays were going so far. I even gave Seamus and Dean hugs too. Seamus lingered a little, but I didn't take much notice. We all turned to the doors when we heard them open, and I smiled when I saw Hermione.


	17. Chapter 17

_'Thoughts'_

" _ **Letters"**_

" **French"**

It's been about an hour since the Ball started and the first dance was finished. Neville and I were having a great time, and McGonagal had gotten The Weird Sisters to play!

Neville needed a break, so I let him go on to get himself some punch. I was going to dance with Hermione, but she was a little busy getting ready to slow dance with Viktor.

"Good evening Ember," I heard a voice come from behind me as Neville came up to me from the front.

" **Oh! Bonsoir Draco. Comment allez-vous?"** I asked him as I turned around.

He made a shocked face for a second before remembering the lashing I gave Dumbledore in French. **"Je vais très bien,"** he answered, **"Maintenant que je peux te voir."**

" **C'était un peu trop ringard,"** I laughed.

" **J'ai réalisé que dès je'ai di. Puis-je avoir la prochaine danse?"** he asked holding his hand out to me.

" **Si Neville ne me dérange pas,"** I said looking over to Neville who looked confused. "Can Draco have the next dance Nev?" I asked him.

"I don't mind at all," Nev said with a relived sigh, "I needed a break anyway. Take her away Malfoy before she makes me dance again."

Draco took me by the hand and led me onto the dance floor. It was a slow dance, so Draco and I were pretty close together.

" **Je vous re mercie,"** I said as Draco and I started to dance, **"J'avais besoin de vous parler."**

" **Sur quoi?"** he asked in a hushed tone like I was speaking.

" **Je sais que Voldemort essaie de revenir,"** I said, **"Je ne veux pas le combattre. Je vou drais terminer cette guerre aussi pacifiquement que possible. Je dois lui parler pour le faire."**

Draco's eyes widened before he looked around. He led me outside to the a corner of the Entrance Hall, and hopefully away from wondering ears. **"Vous voulez parler au Seigneur des Ténèbres?!"** he yelled at me, **"Il est un homme méchant Ember! Il te tuerait avant que tu aies deux mots."**

" **Qu'en est-il d'un parley?"** I asked him calmly, using my hands to tell him to keep it down, **"Il ne peut pas me blesser sous la menace de perdre sa répuation."**

" **Je vais parler à mon Père. Si c'est possible, il sera capable de le faire,"** Draco said turning away from me.

" **Je ne savais pas que tu t'occupais, Draco,"** I told him putting a hand over my heart and giving him a slight pout.

" **Tais-toi,"** he ground out.

" **Oui monsieur,"** I replied.

I went back inside the Great Hall, and I had just sat down next to Neville when Cedric came up to me.

"Can I help you?" I asked looking up at him.

"Can we talk?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why would I want to talk to you?" I asked looking at him. I was still angry at him, but the back of my brain told me to hear him out.

"Because we used to be friends, Ember," he said, "If that meant anything to you, then you will talk to me so we can try to scavenge what we have left."

"Sirius told you best," I said, "I do not say 'goodbye' unless I mean it. Give me time Cedric." I turned to Neville before taking off my shoes, "I'm ready to go back to the home Nev."

"Want me to carry your shoes?" he asked.

"I'd rather you carry me, but that will have to do," I said with a smile, "Good night Cedric. I'll see you later."

"S-see you later," he said sadly. As soon as we left the Great Hall, I pulled out my purse that Sirius put an extension charm on. I had stashed a change of clothes and shoes so I could go to the train in comfort. I just hoped Hermione would hear the last call or she would miss the last train back home.

I came out of the men's room (a force of habit that I hadn't managed to break just yet) and I saw Fred, George, Hermione, and Vitkor in the Entrance Hall. "Is that where you went?" Hermione asked, "I was looking for my clothes!"

"Here you go," I said gently tossing my bag to her.

"Thank you!" she said happily. I looked at her feet and noticed that they were bare as mine had been. I then looked over at Vitkor to see that he held her shoes in his hands and I chuckled.

It didn't take Hermione long to come out, and her hair was down. We got into the carriages after Hermione gave Vitkor a peck goodnight, and we made our way home.

* * *

I smiled as I saw Sirius waiting for us at the station and I went to hug him. I didn't notice how tired I was until we got on the train, but Merlin, I was tired. I had a great time, but now all I wanted to do was sleep. It didn't help that it was the wee hours of the morning.

"Did you have fun?" Sirius asked with a smile.

I nodded my head sleepily when I noticed that Lady Longbottom wasn't there to pick up Neville. "Where's Neville's gran?" I asked with a yawn.

"I told her that we would love to have Neville stay for the rest of the Holidays. She didn't really put up much of a fight," he said. Neville sighed, but he didn't seem too beaten up about it.

"I'm just glad I don't need to be around Uncle Algie anymore," Neville said with a smile, "He's still trying to 'unlock' my magic."

"It's not your fault Neville," Hermione said, "Your wand belonged to your father. It didn't choose you, so you can't use it properly."

"Really?" he asked looking at me for conformation.

"I needed to get a new wand after I was turned into a girl," I said nodding my head, "My magical signature had changed, so my wand didn't really want me anymore. I got to make a wand! If you want, we can go get you a new one... not today of course. I'd be more than happy to pay for it."

"Y-You don't have to do that," Neville said, "I-I can deal with this wand until I can afford one myself."

"Nope!" I said, "I'm buying you a new wand, and we are doing it this on Monday! Now lets go home and eat and sleep!"

"Are we going back to your house too?" Fred asked confused.

"Yeah," Sirius replied, "Bill and Charlie passed out at the house and will be taking you home tomorrow. I was going to offer to let you guys and your family to stay with us permanently, but Arthur beat me to the punch and said no. Something about needing to learn how to be alone or something. I mean I see where he's coming from, but it's a little depressing."

"Life is a little depressing," I said looking at him, "I would know."

"Do I need to be worried?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope, I love my life. It just gets a little depressing here and there," I said as we came up to the floo, "I need to talk to you guys when we get back to the house. It's really important, and you may not like it."

* * *

"WHAT?!" they all yelled after I explained, "You want to meet with Voldemort!"

"I want to end the war in the most peaceful way possible," I said, "I'm requesting a parley with Voldemort so that we can come up with a way to do that. I also want to see what his goals are. I believe that he should be heard out. If his goals are too out there or going to hurt more people then help them, I'll put a stop to it."

"Why would you even want to hear what he has to say?!" Hermione asked angrily.

"When weird things started happening to you, what did your parents do?" I asked.

"T-They took me to church," she replied, "They thought that I had been possessed by the devil. When they found out that I had magic, they-they thought that I sold my soul. Even after McGonagal came to talk to us."

"My family abused me for years," I said, "If what Voldemort is trying to do will stop that from happening again, then I will not stand in his way."

"Well... As long as someone goes with you, I guess it wouldn't be so bad," Sirius said, "I still don't like it, but your mind has already been made up."

"You bet it has," I said with a smile, "I'm heading to bed." I kissed Sirius and Remus on the cheek and hugged everyone else. They all still looked worried, but they didn't argue anymore.

The next morning, I was in my study working on the rest of my homework when an eagle landed on my desk. "Hello little guy," I said with a smile, "Who sent you?"

He held out his claw and I took it. The seal was the Malfoy family crest. As soon as I took the letter, the eagle took off again and left. I gave him a look before turning to the letter in my hand.

" _ **Ember Potter,**_

 _ **I have news. According to Father there is a spy for the Dark Lord in the school, and I'll give you one guess who it is. Why does this always happen at Hogwarts?**_

 _ **If you want a meeting with The Dark Lord, you'll have to talk to him. His real name is Barty Crouch Jr. That's all I can really tell you. Be safe Ember. You still owe me a date.**_

 _ **Draco Malfoy"**_

I smirked at the letter and pulled out two pieces of parchment, a quill, and ink. It took me a lot of tries to write the letters, but when the sun went down, I was done. I even read them over a couple of times while the ink dried. When They were done, I sealed them and called Hedwig. It was out of my hands until I got a response.

* * *

 **Voldemort's POV**

I glared at the wall. I had a feeling that something was going to happen. It was like the winds have changed, but I couldn't put my finger on what was different. All those years in Azkaban had made Barty lose his mind, but for some reason, a little of my mind had come back. It was like a horcrux has been extracted and returned to me, but I couldn't be sure which one.

"My Lord!" Barty yelled running into my father's home, "I got a letter from Potter! She told me to give you this one." He handed me the letter, but in this weak form, I couldn't grab it.

"Read it to me you fool!" I yelled at him. I swear on Merlin's beard, most of my followers were complete idiots or liars, "Better yet, set it on the table and get Wormtail. Have him read it to me."

I wondered what the Potter boy had to say as I waited for Wormtail and Crouch again.

"Y-You wished for me to read you something, My Lord?" Wormtail asked as he came into the room.

"That letter on the table," I said pointing to the paper. Wormtail gasped as he saw the seal on the parchment. I had another reason for making Wormtail read it. If there was some curses or hexes, they would hurt him and not me. The letter opened without any problem, but it wasn't a normal letter. It formed itself into a face and turned to me. It was the same as a howler, but it didn't scream. It calmly opened it's mouth and read its context to me. I was surprised by the soothing feminine voice that came out of it though.

" _ **Dear Voldemort,**_

 _ **You may or may not know what has happened this year at school; I have no clue what Crouch has or has not told you.**_

 _ **The long and short of it is this: thanks to an accident in Potion's Class, I have been turned into a girl and am no longer participating in the Triwizard Tournament.**_

 _ **I have no reason to fight with you to be honest. I just want all the fighting to stop, which is why I am offering you a parley. A parley is a meet up where no harm will come to you as long as no harm will come to me. I wish to talk about your plans for the wizarding world and help you come up with more peaceful ways to achieve them.**_

 _ **You may bring one other person with you, and if there is anything you need to make you feel more comfortable, tell me and I will try my best to make it so. I hope to meet up with you before school starts again, so we won't have to rush and no misunderstandings happen. I hope you had a good holiday, and I hope to hear from you soon.**_

 _ **Ember Potter A.K.A The-Girl-Who-Lived."**_

With that, the letter ripped itself to pieces and floated down to the wooden floor. I was angry, extremely angry.

"Crouch!" I growled at the henchman, "Why is this the first time I'm hearing of this?"

"I-I'm sorry My Lord," he whimpered.

"If Potter is no longer in the Triwizard Tournament, we do not need to enchant the cup! Were you hoping to cause some mayhem? To kill anyone who grabbed the cup?" I asked him, "We do not kill senselessly!"

"I-I am sorry My Lord," Crouch said weakly, "What would I have to do to get back into your good graces again?"

"Nothing! Your madness has already ruined you to me! Kill him Wormtail and dispose of him like the broken toy he is," I ordered.

"Yes My Lord," the rat animagus said, "What shall I do after that?"

"Get some parchment. I need a letter written," I replied.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Here are the translations for the French according to google translate! They are in order that they appear.**

 **Good evening Draco. How are you?**

 **I am very well, now that I get to see you.**

 **That was a little too corny.**

 **I realized that as soon as I said it. May I have the next dance.**

 **If Neville doesn't mind.**

 **Thank you. I needed to talk to you anyway.**

 **About what?**

 **I know that Voldemort is trying to come back. I don't wish to fight him though. I would like to end this war as peacefully as possible. I need to speak to him to do that.**

 **You wish to address the Dark Lord?! He is an evil man Ember. He would kill you before you got two words in!**

 **What about a parley? He cannot hurt me under threat of losing his reputation.**

 **I will talk to Father. If it is possible, he will be able to do it.**

 **I didn't know you cared, Draco.**

 **Shut up.**

 **Yes sir.**


	18. Chapter 18

_'Thoughts'_

" _ **Letters"**_

 **POV Change + Author's Notes**

* * *

 **Ember's POV**

I was sitting in the library, looking up a way to get Voldemort his body back. I knew he wouldn't be able to get very far without a body of his own, even if someone were to bring him. I actually found a fairly easy potion that helps animagi, who got stuck in their animal form, return to normal. It was much better than the extremely dark one I found. That one had the bone from a father and the blood of an enemy forcibly taken. It wouldn't have even brought him back completely, just a deformed version of himself. I was doing this for a totally selfish reason: I would feel much comfortable speaking to a handsome man then some kind of fetus looking monster.

I stood up with a stretch and walked to my study. I asked Rosie to make me a pot of tea, and I got back to doing my potion's homework. I had a plethora of books to chose from, and I worked really hard on this paper.

Now that my eyesight was corrected, I could actually read the recipes. I just didn't really have the patience for it. I still didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up. I just knew that I didn't want to fight for my entire life. I did like the thought of being a teacher. I was always good at DADA. Maybe that. I also had another thought. If Barty Crouch was using Polyjuice to pretend to be Moody, he must be somewhere!

I wrote an anonymous letter to McGonagal and told her that the REAL Mad-Eye was somewhere in the school. I used one of the spare owls in the owlry to do this because Hedwig was too easy to identify.

I had just got done with my essay when a brown horned owl swooped into the room, a letter on his leg with a blank seal. I took the letter off of the owl's leg and gave him some treats and a place to rest, so he wouldn't over work himself.

" _ **Miss Potter,**_

 _ **I would agree to a meeting with you if it weren't for one problem, I am far too weak currently to move from my location. If you were able to rectify this, I see no reason for us to meet. I would also be too grateful for your actions to not harm you.**_

 _ **I also will need a few items. These should be simple enough to gain, and you can bring them with you to the meeting. I shall explain to you what these items are then.**_

 _ **My favorite tea is Earl Grey and if all my demands are met, there will be no harm brought upon you or your escort whoever it may be.**_

 _ **The Dark Lord Voldemort.**_

 _ **P.S. The items I need you to get for me are: A diadem that can be located in the Room of Requirements at Hogwarts, a cup that is currently in the Black Vaults owned by Bellatrix Lestrange, and a locket, which according to the tracking charm I put on it, should be at #12 Grimmauld Place, London. Just ask Sirius Black about it.**_

 _ **The Dark Lord Voldemort.**_

"SIRIUS!" I yelled angrily, "I need to talk to you!"

"Whoa pup," he said looking at me, "Calm down."

"I will not calm down until you explain this Post Script to me!" I handed him the letter and his eyes scanned the parchment until he got to what I was talking about. "Who the Hell is Bellatrix and what in Merlin's Beard is Grimmauld Place?"

"Bellatrix is my cousin, she's more insane than you are right now," Sirius said giving me a look. I huffed at him before he continued, "And Grimmauld Place is my childhood home. I'm never going to set foot in that place again."

"You have to," I said with a flat face, "You're the only Black left and the locket is in there."

"If you want the locket so bad, you can get it!" Sirius yelled, "You can search the entire house for all I care!"

"Didn't you have a house elf?" I asked, "Don't most wealthy families have them?"

"Yeah, but you'd be lucky if Kreature even lets you in the house let alone takes... orders... from... you..." Sirius said as I raised an eyebrow.

"So because I'm not a blood Black, he won't let me in the house without your permission? Don't we need to go to your house to ask permission?" I asked.

"Uh... does not compute?" he asked.

"Not going to work," I said, "I also need you to get the cup that was mentioned out of Bellatrix's vault."

"Why are you worrying about it now?" he asked, "The RoR is at Hogwarts. You can't get the diadem until you get back to Hogwarts anyway."

"I know, but maybe I'll be able to sneak off campus and meet up with him. I need to do this Sirius. If we go to war, I could lose you and Remus. I can't do that Sirius. I can't," I told him, "That's why I'm trying so hard to bring this to a close."

"I understand Ember," he said, "Really I do, but I don't like that you want to talk to him and not take me with you. I don't want him to kill you and not find out until your body is found in a ditch somewhere."

"Sirius," I said with a smile, "It's a parley. He can't kill me, or he will lose his reputation. As a Slytherin, his reputation is the most important thing he has. I could have sworn I've gone over this with you."

"I'm being overprotective," he said.

"I'll be fine Sirius," I said, "I'll have Draco with me." I kissed him on the head and walked away.

"You're taking Malfoy Jr. with you?!"

* * *

I sighed as I got back to my room. I had just sent a letter to Malfoy to ask him if he would be my escort to the meeting with the Dark Lord, when it did happen, and if he wanted to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow for a date. I needed to pick out an outfit.

I was doing a lot of sighing lately. I was getting more and more depressed. Maybe everything was finally hitting home or something. I wasn't sure. I was still angry at Cedric, but I was also trying so hard to stay away from him for now. I hated him! I hated him for the feelings that are going though my body. There was love, hate, anger, happiness, everything.

Then there was Neville. He was possibly the sweetest guy in the world, and he treated me real nice. He wasn't as weak as everyone thought he was. He just needed the confidence to believe in himself. He was strong; he just didn't know it yet.

Draco was born and raised to be a gentleman, but he almost never was to Hermione and I. He was trying to fix that, but he was never a quick learner when it came to manners. I hoped that I could be close enough to actually whack him over the head once or twice, maybe step on his toes... we'd have to see. I couldn't deny the attraction I felt towards him. He was sex on a stick at age 14, and it wasn't fair. Neville, Seamus, Ron, and Dean were cute, but the Slytherins had this animal magnetism that the others wouldn't get until their later teens. Maybe it was the confidence they all had.

I had to wonder what would happen later. Would Cedric fall for me? Would Neville? Malfoy? There were just so many questions, and I had to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up before the year let out.

That was another thing that wasn't fair. In the muggle world, I would usually have until I got to my senior year in high school or maybe even university to figure out what I wanted to do, but not here. Here, I had to figure it out from the ages of 11 to 14! And I didn't even know all the jobs the wizarding world had to offer! Maybe that's why all those muggleborns work for the Ministry. They didn't know what else to do!

What if I didn't want to do the same job for the rest of my life? Was there a university for witches and wizards? I can't do the same job for the rest of my life! I'm not patient enough!

I stopped pacing around my room. It was getting really hard to breath. My train of thought was going around in very scary circles. My heart was racing, and my hands were shaking. I noticed that my vision was getting tunneled, and the only thing I could think to do was to scream before everything went dark and I fell onto my back.

"Ember!" I heard Remus yell. He leaned down beside me and I looked up at him. I was scared, and I started crying.

"I-I don't know what h-happened," I sniffled looking up at him, "Before I knew it I couldn't breath!"

"And you blacked out for a second Cub," Remus said softly, trying to calm me down, "It's okay."

"I was scared!" I cried as he ran his fingers through my hair in a soothing manner, "I was so scared Moony."

"I know Ember," he said softly, "It's a very scary thing, but you have to calm down Cub or you're going to cry yourself into another fit."I tried to calm myself down, and before long, Remus saw me fit enough to sit up. "From what I saw, it looked like you were having a anxiety attack. Want to tell me what brought it on?"

"I-I don't know. I got to thinking about the future, what I wanted to be, all the pressure, what if I don't want to do the same job for the rest of my life..." I said slowly trying to stay calm.

"Have you never had an anxiety attack before Cub?" Remus asked. I shook my head and leaned my head on his shoulder. Most people would probably think I had, with all the things I've been through... my entire life, but there were somethings I found nerve-wracking more than someone trying to kill me. I'm weird, we all knew this. Don't judge. Picking one job, and then ruining my entire life on that one decision scared the Hell out of me. I had the same anxiety whenever someone brings up kids and marriage, but those were far enough away for me to worry about it more later.

* * *

"Did I hear Ember scream?" I heard Sirius's voice come from the doorway.

"Anxiety attack," Remus said calmly, not making it a big deal thank Merlin, "We handled it."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, "Did you pass out? Did you hit anything when you fell? Did you hurt yourself? Are you better now?" As he asked all these questions, he looked me over as if I was a priceless vase or something. I asked Remus silently for help, but he just shook his head.

"It's best to just let him do his Mother Henning," Remus said with a chuckle, "When you were a baby and crawling around, you would always bump your head or something and it was usually Sirius and James who looked you over. You're Mum and I knew better. It was all crocodile tears with you. You knew that it was the quickest way to get attention."

"Too bad I don't like attention these days," I chuckled as Sirius tickled under my armpit, and I was finally able to pull my arm out of his grasp.

"Are you okay though?" Sirius asked looking at me in the eyes.

"I'm fine now Padfoot," I said with a soft smile, "Thanks for worrying."

"It's my job," he said with a smile. We sat there for just a little while. Fred and George took Neville and Hermione home the day after the Yule Ball, so now it was only the three of us and Hedwig, who was currently out sending my letter to Malfoy. I sighed and stood back up slowly. I still needed to find something to wear in case Malfoy said yes to my offer.


End file.
